Welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza!
by Wisperic
Summary: Rated M in a chapter. Please read last chapter for update before reading.
1. The First Night

**Chapter originally posted October 31st, 2014. Edit has been posted February 19th, 2016. Majorly rewritten from the original version, though the first two sections aren't that different outside of some grammar and wording fixes.**

**I hope you like the new direction I'm taking this, and I'm sorry if you personally don't.**

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><p>Mike plopped down in the swivel chair, flipping on the fan and taking the tablet off the desk. It was his first night on the job, and he was eager to do what he was expected to do; nothing at all. He was hired to be a night watch at the local pizzeria place, a position he was more than a bit shocked to know it even existed. After all, a pizzeria shouldn't have that much in it that would warrant constant surveillance, at least so he thought. But who was he to question it; all you do is sit and look at cameras all night, and while the pay may have been abysmal, it was still easy money.<p>

Besides, he'd only have this job for a little while; he was still looking for an actively better job, and the place was doomed to close by the end of the year anyway. Either he'd be out into a new job with better pay, or he'd last for the final month the place was still open for.

To be honest, he was shocked that he was hired to this job in the first place; he was hardly qualified at all—having no experience in this kind of field—and he had applied more so out of nostalgia for the old pizzeria. The fact that the interview went by so quickly and how the employers seemed more than eager to have him in the position gave him quite a shocked feeling. It was almost as if they were simply looking for random guys on the street, not really caring if the job was done right or well at all.

In fact, the interview was practically a blur to Mike. He couldn't hardly remember a thing that had happened during it; all that really stood out was how when he went to sign his name on the contract, his hand was suddenly pricked, causing a bleed to appear on the paper. The heads told him not to worry, that the paper was more a formality than anything, but seeing that bit of blood smeared where his signature was surely left an ominous feeling in the pit of Mike's stomach...

But hell, he needed the money, no matter how pathetic of an amount it was. 480 bucks a month was enough to pay roughly three bills at the most, but that would be three more bills that he could pay that he couldn't before. Besides, it wasn't like he was by his own with bills. Having a roommate in the form of your younger brother made handling expenses a little easier, even if money still was fairly tight given his job wasn't anything spectacular either.

Mike wondered at the odd design the little office had. At both sides of the room stood powered iron doors, the kind of strength and style you'd see in high security places. Two buttons were on each side of the room as well; the top labeled doors and the bottom labeled lights. He was more than a little curious to know why a family pizzeria needed such powerful doors, especially to such a small area of the restaurant with nothing of importance to it.

Not only that, but on the wall stood a rather interesting display; an LED screen that said the power level and power usage. Currently it displayed the power as being at 99%, and the usage as a single green bar, no doubt from the lights and fan. He remembered that management had told him that at night they had a limited supply of power, so as to save money. It made enough sense, he didn't expect that he'd use that much power anyway.

Mike pressed one of the door buttons to see if they worked. The door came slamming down, making a loud bang as it did. _"Alright, so they aren't just for decoration, good to know,"_ he made a note to himself. He noticed that when he pressed the button, a new bar of power usage came up. He opened up the door again, then pressed the light button to see what that would do. Immediately the light in the hallway turned on, showcasing the room that was pitch black before. Once again, another bar of power usage was on the screen; he didn't quite get how lights and doors seemed to take the same amount of power, but as long as the lights were off and the doors were open, there shouldn't be a problem.

Mike jumped a bit in his seat when the phone suddenly started to ring. _"What on earth, who's calling a pizza place at the middle of the night? Wouldn't they know the place is closed at this time?"_ Mike thought to himself, before he answered the phone. He adjusted the tablet in his lap as he did so and said in as neutral of a voice he could manage, "We're sorry, Freddy Fazbear's pizza is currently closed at this time."

"Hello, hello?" a rather nervous sounding voice spoke out to him.

"Ah, hello sir, I'm sorry but the place is-" Mike started, but was cut off before he could finish.

"Uh, I wanted to record a message for you to help you get settled in on your first night." As the voice finished the line, it occurred to Mike now that this was a per-recorded message instead of it being an actual person. With a sigh, Mike thought it would be best to humor the message this one time, leaning back in his chair as he put the phone to his shoulder.

"Um, I actually worked in that office before you. I'm finishing up my last week now, as a matter of fact. So, I know it can be a bit overwhelming, but I'm here to tell you there's nothing to worry about. Uh, you'll do fine." _"Well this guy sure oozes with enthusiasm,"_ Mike couldn't help but think.

"So, let's just focus on getting you through your first week. Okay? Uh, let's see, first there's an introductory greeting from the company that I'm supposed to read. Uh, it's kind of a legal thing, you know. Um, "Welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. A magical place for kids and grown-ups alike, where fantasy and fun come to life." Mike was messing at the cameras at this point, using the tablet to casually flip through the various rooms to see if anything was going on at all. He didn't quite understand how the tablet managed to use power as well, given that it was a wireless device that should have its own source of power. But he shrugged at the little inconvenience; he probably wouldn't have to use the cameras all that much.

"Fazbear Entertainment is not responsible for damage to property or person. Upon discovering that damage or death has occurred, a missing person report will be filed within 90 days, or as soon as property and premises have been thoroughly cleaned and bleached, and the carpets have been replaced." Mike had to do a mental double-take at that, pausing his search as a look of confusion graced his face._ "The hell?"_ Mike thought, turning the tablet off and setting it down to hold onto the phone.

"Blah blah blah, now that might sound bad, I know, but there's really nothing to worry about. Uh, the animatronic characters here do get a bit quirky at night, but do I blame them? No. If I were forced to sing those same stupid songs for twenty years and I never got a bath? I'd probably be a bit irritable at night too. So, remember these characters hold a special place in the hearts of children and we need to show them a little respect, right? Okay." Mike's face only contorted more with confusion as the message went on, a series of "what the fucks" going through his head at the bizarre display. _"Why's this guy talking as if the animatronics are sentient?"_ he wondered.

"So, just be aware, the characters do tend to wander a bit. Uh, they're left in some kind of free roaming mode at night. Uh… Something about their servos locking up if they get turned off for too long. Uh, they used to be allowed to walk around during the day too. But then there was The Bite of '87. Yeah. I-It's amazing that the human body can live without the frontal lobe, you know?" Mike was getting progressively more freaked as the message went on, his eyes darting around in confusion as he looked around in nervousness. He had heard about the Bite, practically everyone in town did; the infamous incident which left a child hospitalized and completely warped from what they originally were. The thoughts of the incident made his blood run cold, even when he wasn't one of the unlucky few to experience it first-hand.

"Uh, now concerning your safety, the only real risk to you as a night watchmen here, if any, is the fact that these characters, uh, if they happen to see you after hours probably won't recognize you as a person. They'll pro-… they'll most likely see you as a metal endoskeleton without its costume on. Now, since that's against the rules here at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, they'll probably try to… forcefully stuff you inside a Freddy Fazbear suit." Mike's heart locked up as he heard this, his pulse starting to go about in an erratic pace. _"No way, no way, this has gotta be a joke, right?"_ Mike thought, a hand running down his face as a nervous twitch.

"Um, now, that wouldn't be so bad if the suits themselves weren't filled with crossbeams, wires, and animatronic devices especially around the facial area. So, you could imagine how having your head forcefully pressed inside one of those could cause a bit of discomfort… and death. Uh, the only parts of you that would likely see the light of day again would be your eyeballs and teeth when they pop out the front of the mask, heh." Mike had since switched the tablet back on and positioned the camera location towards the main stage, worried beyond reasoning at whether or not this guy was joshing him or not. What made matters worse is he swore he saw one of them twitch about.

"Y-Yeah, they don't tell you these things when you sign up. But hey, first day should be a breeze. I'll chat with you tomorrow. Uh, check those cameras, and remember to close the doors only if absolutely necessary. Gotta conserve power. Alright, good night." The phone clicked off right as the message finished, making the droning noise of there being no secondary connection now. Mike felt absolutely petrified now; suddenly things were starting to make a bit more sense, and it terrified him.

The reason there were such strong doors, the absolutely bizarre introductory message; he could feel a lump form in his throat, still watching intently at the animatronics on the stage. So far not one of them had moved in any major way, and Mike hoped dearly that it would remain that way. He prayed that this was all just some bad prank, just an old guard teasing the new guy since no doubt this job would otherwise get boring. After staring about five minutes straight at the stage, Mike finally switched the tablet off for a moment, relieved that nothing had happened.

_"Yeah... a joke,"_ Mike thought, snorting to himself as a little smile adorned his face. He started to feel a bit foolish, having fallen for a prank like that. _"No way these thing's are alive, they're just machinery bits..."_ he reassured himself, giving a light chuckle at how much of a panic he nearly brought himself to. Anxiety disorders surely were a beast like that, making one think even the most illogical of things would happen. Still, he couldn't help but look back at the tablet, switching it back on to stare at the stage one last time.

Just as he thought, the animatronics were still in place. _"Hah, yeah, thought so. They just can't move around like that, they aren't-"_ Mike had started, but then his thoughts took an abrupt hold.

Mike felt his throat close up when suddenly the camera went black. Something knocked the camera's signal out, leaving nothing but a static noise and a blank screen. Mike swallowed hard, shaking the tablet a bit as if that would do any good. He had a feeling it was just faulty technology, but he couldn't help but swear at the perfect timing the bit of machinery had. Damn thing felt like it was testing him.

When the camera finally came back on, Mike felt his heart jump to his throat, and his stomach ached now with sudden panic pains. Bonnie was gone from the stage, nowhere to be seen. Mike immediately switched the camera to the dining area, and he very nearly felt like screaming at what he saw. Bonnie was in the room now, moving around on their own accord.

_"Oh god, no no no!"_ Mike thoughts started out, watching as the rabbit moved about in the dining room, messing with party hats and playing with chairs. _"This, this can't be happening! They're animatronics, they should be bolted on stage, not...! Not, not fucking moving around like this!"_ his thoughts were progressively getting more and more freaked out, watching the rabbit with unwavering eyes.

Mike breathed shakily, trying to get himself calmed down enough to think. It was a hard endeavor, given the fact that the impossible was happening right in front of his eyes, but eventually he got his heart to finally stop palpitating. _"Alright... moving animatronics, not a good sign, and I don't think I'd care to find out if they really do like what that guy says,"_ Mike thought to himself, eyes still glued to Bonnie. As he did so, he started to formulate a plan inside of his head.

So he would have to make sparing use of the cameras. Not use it all the time, as for some reason—almost as if it were a cruel twist of fate—the tablet took power even with it being wireless. He would have to check in bouts, and only for very short periods of time, to prolong the life of the power as long as he could. Not only that, but he couldn't just have the doors shut as a safety measure; he had to wait until absolutely necessary for the doors to come down, lest he use up too much valuable resources. And the light, the light was a tricky mistress. He really needed to keep his ears open, making sure if he couldn't find them on camera, that he was at least aware of their presence in more ways than one.

Mike took in a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for the trials ahead. _"So... this just got a whole lot more interesting... and terrifying,"_ he thought to himself, putting the tablet down as he looked to the doorway. He'd have to be on full alert, one wrong move and he didn't even want to think about what would happen as a result.

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><p>It was approaching 3 am, and so far Mike hadn't run into any trouble. Bonnie had gotten close quite a few times, but always seemed to back out just when Mike thought they were about to strike. Not only that, but Chica had recently become active as well, and unlike Bonnie seemed to prefer taking the right path over the left. However, she hadn't proceeded much farther past the kitchen, and spent the majority of her time in said kitchen, given the constant noise coming from the area.<p>

So far Mike was in an extremely awkward state of feeling a little bit at ease at how everything had gone, and feeling like his stomach was going to explode from the sheer anxiety of the situation. He certainly didn't know if the guy on the phone was just pulling his leg, and given the fact the animatronics were capable of moving in such an advanced manner, he really didn't care to find out. All he knew was that these robots were acting beyond what typical animatronics did, and it frightened him something awful.

At least Freddy hadn't activated yet, and didn't show any signs of activating soon either. And at least it seemed like there were only three of the monsters to worry about; he had known there was a fourth animatronic in the Pirate Cove area, but when he flipped through the cameras and saw the out of order sign, he assumed that animatronic was too out of commission to do anything. In fact, if he recalled right, that animatronic's been out of order for years now, and he was amazed it was still broken down after all this time. Perhaps it was just too much to get the old fox fixed, which was a shame; Mike always did find the pirate to be the most interesting part of the establishment when he was a kid.

But at least that meant he wouldn't have to worry about another animatronic potentially killing him, even if nostalgia did make him rather sad. When Mike was a kid and went to Freddy's, Foxy was his favorite of the animatronics just for the sheer novelty of it; he found pirates to be more interesting than just some band members like the trio was, so he was always excited to see a Foxy show. But then he'd come back to the place once only to find the attraction completely isolated, and that "Sorry! Out of Order" sign propped right in front of the stage; and every sequential visit, that same sign would always be there. He didn't really go to Freddy's that much afterwards; the pizza was alright but it was way too expensive and just not worth it without his favorite show.

Mike sighed a bit from the nostalgia trip he suddenly experienced, only to feel his heart freeze up when he heard sudden footsteps to his left. Looking at the doorway, he pressed the light button and nearly felt his skin jump off of him when he saw the giant purple rabbit right outside the door, staring straight at him. Mike rapidly pressed the door button, having the door slam shut and his head pound from the sheer shock of it all. _"Damn, that bunny's bigger than I recall..."_ Mike said, heart going a thousand miles a second. He took in a shaky breath, before checking the other hallway just to make sure Chica hadn't suddenly stepped the pace up, and released it slowly to try and calm himself down.

Looking back over at the left door, his heart froze once again when he saw that Bonnie had moved to the window, now staring at him completely ominously. For a moment, his gaze was frozen on the animatronic rabbit, feeling his heart pound at how the robot was just glaring at him so intensely. Raising a shaking hand, he pressed the light button again to turn off the light and tried his best to ignore the thought of the rabbit still staring at him. And to ignore the feeling that his heart would burst at any moment now.

He had anticipated their arrival sooner rather than later, but still he hoped that, given the time allotted, he wouldn't have reacted as badly as he did. But of course, that was wishful thinking, as his anxiety disorder made stuff as simple as opening a soda can a fearful experience.

Still, with his hand to his chest, he steeled himself for more trials ahead. He wasn't planning on dying tonight, least of all because of his own panic

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><p>Foxy stared at the camera in the corner of the room, waiting to see if that red light to show it was activated would come on. He hadn't seen that light turn on a single time since he decided to peak out about an hour or so ago; usually people would at least casually flip through the cameras to his area a few times, but the current guard hadn't done it a single time.<p>

He wondered if the guard was even using the cameras, or if he was one of those people who thought staring at the doors was the best solution. Those kind of people usually never survived passed the first day, doomed to die by his hands for their negligence. But today was a special day, for it was Monday. While to many, Monday meant the worst day of the week, to Foxy it was the greatest time of any week. For Monday was when he swore to himself no one would die by his own accord, that he would ensure whoever worked on this lucky day would live to see many others.

It was almost a sick tradition, what the group had going on here. Ever since the murders had taken place, Freddy had ordered the group to go after the guards, to ensure they weren't more potential predators; more devil with halos. In his words, _"If we can prevent more innocent deaths, it's worth all the blood spilled in the process."_ Foxy couldn't blame Freddy's hastiness; the deaths were tragic, the event horrifying, but still, he couldn't help but feel a sting of guilt each time he heard a scream become silenced. He couldn't help but think if that was what it was like for the children, lost forever, their voices gone from the world in one fell swoop...

It was this guilt that fueled Foxy's passion to do what he thought was right; even if it did mean it had to meet a very specific criteria in order to do so. And that was on every Monday, if a guard hadn't checked Pirate Cove at least once when Foxy began to peek out, he would drop the game for an hour each night to grant the person some peace. And during that hour, instead, the guard would find a savior in the form of the old pirate fox; a friend, protector, someone who would ensure that no harm would come to them for that hour.

Freddy had initially rejected the idea, saying it was a waste of time to spare "killers" like that. But Foxy was adamant, steadfast in his resolve, and even with Freddy's objections, he stood tall and kept to his silent oath. As the years passed by, eventually Freddy let it be, even if he did still give a snarl every time he saw Foxy being buddies with the guard. It was pointless arguing with Foxy, as he had a code of honor he followed, and Hell would have to freeze over for Foxy to even consider breaking it.

Usually those he protected under his stead lasted far longer than those who had to go without. Those without often died their first night, unprepared for what they were facing, with only a small handful surviving longer than that initial day. The sole exception to this pattern was the last guard, who—against all odds—survived until their very last day; a feat never accomplished before. It was this achievement that made Freddy make them go after them with a force unlike any other; no mercy, no peace. Death was the only option that night.

The amount of times Foxy had helped could be counted on one hand, and each time, no matter what, it ended the same; with them having grown too comfortable in the protection, letting their guard down long enough for their fates to be sealed. But this time, Foxy was determined to have this guard survive as long as they could. He knew it was practically impossible for the guard to make it out alive, as Freddy had his own oath to have no one leave the employment of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza with their heart still beating. But Foxy would try.

Foxy continued to peak outside of the curtain, eyes unwavering to the camera that would determine the fate of the guard. The next three hours would be spent in anticipation, waiting to see if the light would come on... and hoping for it to not.

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><p>6 o'clock was just around the corner, the sun starting to give light to the darkness. Foxy smiled to himself as the time ticked on, seeing that the camera's light hadn't turned on a single time. Which meant the best case scenario was about to happen; the night his handful of salvations would turn into two.<p>

With that, Foxy did what he did best. With a flick of the ear and the patch above his eye, Foxy bolted off towards the location of the office, metallic feet sounding out within the building.

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><p>Mike was starting to feel a bit more relaxed now that it was close to six; his stomach had finally started to unknot itself, and his hands weren't shaking quite as intensely as they had before. His heart certainly felt like it tried to jump right out of his chest multiple times throughout the night, but so far he hadn't experienced too debilitating of a panic attack. The first night seemed to have been fairly tame; Bonnie had only come to the door once, and Chica hadn't even left the kitchen.<p>

In fact, in some ways it almost felt more like they were teasing him. Bonnie would eye the camera a multitude of times; a sideways glance, full on stares, sometimes he even caught the rabbit trying to make funny faces when they thought Mike wasn't looking. Either that or he was trying to make scary faces, or contort the face into something that couldn't be achieved, but never-the-less, it felt more like Bonnie was playing than actually actively going after him.

With Chica, he swore the amount of noise going on in the kitchen was far more than just rummaging around wildly. Sounds were too specific; the opening of doors, the running of the sink. It seemed like she was actually cooking in there, or cleaning, or doing something that just couldn't be seen. The behavior of the two animatronics perplexed Mike, wondering why they were acting like they were.

Mike suddenly froze in his seat when he heard a different sound than usual coming from the hallway, gradually getting louder as time progressed. It sounded an awful lot like metal pounding on the floor, almost like the footsteps that would sound when the animatronics were near; except this time, it sounded much louder and was at a faster pace. Flipping on the tablet again, Mike switched the camera over to the west hall.

Mike felt his throat close up when he saw a different animatronic than the main trio run down the hallway. Pointed ears, sharp teeth, a hook for a hand... no doubt, it was the pirate animatronic known as Foxy. So shocked at the discovery of the fourth animatronic, Mike wasn't able to react in time before said animatronic appeared in the doorway.

Popping out from the side, the tattered remains of the fox animatronic came into view as a horrible shrieking sound reverberated through the room. Very nearly dropping the tablet, Mike screamed out in terror as he covered his ears and curled up tightly into a ball in his seat. His heart felt like it wanted to give out so badly, pounding so harshly that it hurt his chest.

Mike whined out in fear, feeling his entire body shake and his eyes close tightly, nearly to the brim of tears. _"Oh god,"_ he thought, _"This is it, I'm not even gonna get a chance to make it out of here!"_ He was certain that he was going to die right here, right now; stuffed into some horrible suit, having his flesh torn all to pieces. He could already anticipate feeling that harsh hand grabbing a hold of him, dragging him off to the backroom as he kicked and screamed and pleaded for mercy.

Mike kept curled up for a good few seconds, just waiting now for the inevitable to happen. His mind was racing, his head felt like his brain was burning down like an overheated computer. Tears now ran down his face, and his throat felt so harsh from the screaming that it honestly felt like he had swallowed sandpaper. He didn't want to die, but he knew that was all that would happen now. He swore, he could feel a searing pain go down his arm, as if his very flesh was being stripped from the bone.

When he didn't feel any sort of contact for a solid ten seconds, Mike was now both terrified and confused. _"What is it waiting for...?"_ Mike thought, worse thoughts racing in his head now. He now could imagine looking up to see that fox right up at his face, horrid teeth and wires sticking all over the place. He could imagine it, his head being snatched up into the maw of the creature, brain and skull smashed all to pieces...

Mike shuddered, not wanting to look up, but the longer he went on not know what the fox was doing, the worse his thoughts got. Finally he steeled himself, taking a shaking breath as he looked up to stare what he thought would be certain death straight in the face. However, when he looked up, he was shocked to see that Foxy was kneeling, his face that calm expression he remembered so vividly from his childhood. He swore, the mechanical eyes almost looked concerned as he stared at him, unmoving.

Too scared to give any sort of reaction, Mike could only look back as the fox animatronic continued to simply stare. As he looked, he noticed little details that Mike never noticed as a kid; the fact the left eye drooped lower than the other, giving the impression of a lazy eye, the fact that there were actual "golden" teeth among the fangs... properly pirate stuff, if he were to say.

Mike was startled out of his thoughts when a voice suddenly spoke to him, deep in tone and full of concern. "Are ye alright lad?" the voice said, sounding like it was coming from a low quality microphone. Mike's eyes widened when it occurred to him just where the voice was coming from; the very animatronic that kneeled in front of him.

"W-What...?" Mike said, so quietly and weakly in shock. He needed to be sure he was hearing right, or if he was just imagining sounds again.

"Are ye okay? I'm sorry I gave ye a scare, me voice box sometimes does that in this blasted thing, never know when ta expect it," the voice said again, confirming Mike's suspicions. It indeed was Foxy speaking, mouth moving ever so slightly to mimic talking, but obviously it wasn't in perfect sync.

"Um, y-yeah, I..." Mike started to respond, before shuddering a little in his seat. "Y-You... you can talk?" was instantly switched over in his mind, mouth rather agape at the realization.

The fox animatronic nodded, slow and limbered, with the machinery clearly sounding out. "Aye, that I can. Surprisin', I know, but there be a good reason why I can matey. But please, jus' answer me question first, alright? Are ye okay?"

Mike gulped a little, completely forgetting that Foxy had asked that, even when it was just on his mind. He nodded, giving confirmation that he was fine. "Y-Yes, just a bit shaken... What, what are you... how are you...?" Mike couldn't even finish a sentence, his head swarming with so many questions that they were starting to jumble together.

"Deep breaths lad, yer startin' ta hyperventilate..." the animatronic said, voice such a smooth sound to Mike's ears, even with the quality of the voice.

Mike did as instructed, taking in one deep breath and holding it for a few before releasing it, and repeating the action a number of times until his head finally stopped swirling in sheer panic. "Good, good..." Foxy said, nodding in approval as Mike released his breath a few times.

Once Mike felt more grounded, he took in one last breath before finally uttering what was most on his mind. "You're... talking to me... how?" Mike said, eyes filled with a mix of wonder and concern. As a kid, it always was a dream to have the fox captain speak to him, to acknowledge his existence, but now as an adult it seemed like a nightmare... almost.

"Well, we're quite advanced fer bein' animatronics, one would say," Foxy said, slowly blinking as he responded. "Tis not tha only secret we hold, ye know. We be a bundle o' surprises, an' tanight... well, it's yer lucky night, lad. Yer 'bout ta find out our lil secret only a few 'fore ye have known," Foxy said, standing up now to tower over the man.

_"L-Lord, these guys really are huge..."_ was Mike's first thought, before it dawned on him what exactly Foxy was saying. "W-Wait... what? Secret? You're... not going to kill me?" Mike said, a bit of hope to his voice as maybe this was all just a misunderstanding.

Foxy flinched at the question and how hopeful the man was starting to get, sighing as he shook his head. "Not tanight, no. And if I had me way, not ever, period. But sadly I only control so much. So... don't erm, don't get too hopeful, please. I'd hate ta make ye feel betrayed..." Foxy tried to put it as softly as he could, but he couldn't help but internally frown as he saw the face of the human fall.

"So you... were going to kill me... I wasn't just dramatizing...?" Mike said, now a hopeless twinge to his voice as he scooted his chair back away from the animatronic. This action alone was one Foxy had known for a while, but each time it happened, he couldn't help but feel his heart break.

"I'm... 'fraid not, lad. In tha past, we have killed, an' tanight I thought it would be 'nother case. But then tha situations aligned up jus' right, tha scenarios bein' jus' perfect. An' now I have hope, hope that ye'll break this horrid cycle we've had!" Foxy said, voice starting out somber and glum before sparking up in a wondrous tone.

"W-What?" Mike said, very confused now, but not exactly feeling so defeated as he did just a moment before. Was he really going to be an exception? He knew he shouldn't be as excited as he was, given the fact others had died before him, but he couldn't help but feel nearly giddy; it felt almost like he was a chosen one in a video game.

"I'm hopin' ye'll be tha one ta help break this pattern we've had. Let me start at tha beginnin'. Fer years now, we've been doing this thin' Freddy likes ta call "retribution." Tha reason he calls it this? A guard, not unlike yerself, long ago did somethin' atrocious, ta ferever soil Freddy's trust fer any guards in tha future. As a result, he takes a... precaution. He assumes it's better ta assume all guards are as bad as that man was than it is ta let guards live, so he wants ta make sure no guards leave out o' here alive..."

Mike seemed to pale at this admittance, eyes bugging as he gripped his chair. "But I haven't done anything bad! I swear! Worst I did was cheat in high school, but I swear I felt bad during it!"

Foxy's own eyes would've bulged as well if they could, given the sudden panicked tone the man gained, but his animatronic body didn't allow for such complex mannerism like in natural body did. Raising his hand, he gave a gentle gesture towards the man. "No, no, I know lad! Let me finish, aye? Freddy think ye all are jus' as bad as tha ferst, but I know fer sure he's misguided! An' I don't want anyone else ta be finished cause o' it! I'm sick o' it, it jus' ain't right!"

"Uh, yeah that's a bit obvious-" Mike replied, before quickly silencing his mouth as he realized that could be taken as a snarky comment. Foxy though, nodded in agreement.

"Aye... it is... an' I'm sorry it's taken me this long ta want ta make things right, but I'll be damned if it goes any longer. Ye meet the criteria I set up, lad; ye didn't keep an eye on me, yet survived as long as ye did. It's gotta be a sign yer not so careless as ta get yerself killed. So I'm gonna make sure it keeps like that. But first, we need to get ta know each other som'ore, an' with that, I gotta not hide who I am. Are ye willin' ta have a chat, matey?" Foxy said, a hand extended to see if it would be accepted.

Mike stared at the hand, before looking back up. He wasn't quite sure what kind of question that was, given the other option was "get killed," but he supposed it was an honest enough question. He wasn't the best with social interactions, but when it came to life and death, he could swallow his anxiety for just a little bit.

With that, he nodded and took the fox's cold, mechanical hand, giving it a shake.

* * *

><p>"So, let's get started then," Foxy said, shaking the hand as well. "Me name be Foxy, Cap'n Foxy o' tha Red Diamond. Who might ye be, lad?"<p>

"Um... Mike, M-Mike Schmidt," Mike replied, simply enough, still a little timidness in his voice. He half wanted to say he already knew full and well who Foxy was, but he thought that would've been rude, given the fact that it was introductions.

"A pleasure, Mister Schmidt," Foxy said, a bit of a smile to his voice as he withdrew his hand. "Now, since we don't have much time left 'fore tha night be over, I'll make this quick. Ta put this simply, ye can probably tell we ain't be normal animatronics, aye?"

"Ah, right," Mike agreed, nodding his head. "Pretty sure I couldn't chat like this to any old robotic fox."

Foxy gave a laugh at that, shaking his head in agreement. "Aye, ye couldn't. An' there be a damn good explanation why we be so different. But I gotta ask ye a sailor's oath 'fore I show ye this, lad. Ye can't just go babblin' this ta any ol' landlubber, ye have ta have secrecy wit' this. So promise me this, Mister Schmidt; promise me ye won't tell anyone what I'm 'bout ta show ye. Make this be our lil' secret, aye?"

Mike felt confused for a moment, not sure why if this was such a great secret, he was being told it in the first place. But he complied, nodding at the animatronic fox. "I promise, I won't tell, Captain."

"Good, good! Well, 'fore I can show ye, I gotta ask, can ye back up som'ore? I need a good bit o' room ta do this; don't want ta accidentally bump ye in tha process."

"Oh, uh..." Mike started, looking behind himself just in case this happened to have been a trick. Nothing was behind him, sans some children drawings. With the mental confirmation that everything was as is, he obliged, backing his chair up until it was right to the wall.

"Thank ye, lad. Now, try not ta blink, cause I'm only doin' this once!" Foxy said, a joking tone to his voice as he stepped forward just enough for there to be a good space behind him. As he did this, Mike could hear a humming come from the animatronic, and in an instant the glow of the eyes disappeared as the animatronic went limp, making Mike think it was going to fall right on top of him. Yelping, he jumped and scooted his chair a little to the side before it occurred to him the suit was stuck in place.

_"W-What?"_ Mike thought, absolutely confused at what he was being shown now. From the looks of it, it just seemed like Foxy had turned off. Indeed, he was completely motionless, and no noise other than that soft humming came from the animatronic. Mike looked around the room, not sure what to do. "Um, Capta-" he started, before he gasped when he finally noticed what was happening.

Behind the animatronic was a mass of static, like that of corporeal TV snow. The mass grew in size, bulging out from the back like a tumor, until it was practically the size of a rather tall human. Indeed, the mass had to have been a solid foot taller than Mike's average 5′6″, though it wasn't quite as tall as the animatronic if it was standing straight.

As the mass finished withdrawing from the husk of robot, it began to shape itself into a humanesque form; arms, legs, fingers, a head, all until it was a perfect silhouette made of static. With the final bit of details shaping into the blob, the static began to gave way, gradually clearing in appearance. First was the arms, revealing a lightly tanned skin with a light amount of bright red hair. More and more of the form solidified, showing calloused hands, a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, unfastened at the chest to show the hair there as well.

It continued on, going downwards first, the bit of the body that couldn't be seen yet because of the animatronic blocking the way. But eventually the forming made its way up to the top, finishing up its appearing form, revealing a human head. The head was that of a masculine person, a full head of messy red hair and a rather nicely trimmed beard. The eyes were closed still, giving a serene look as the body solidified, the last bits of static disappearing until out stood what looked like a perfectly normal human.

_"Oh... my god,"_ was all Mike could think now, eyes wandering over what little was shown of the person behind the animatronic. His eyes especially was drawn to the face, the expression it bared was just so... lovely.

Soon the eyes finally opened, revealing the most vibrant, glowing yellow eyes Mike had ever seen. Indeed, it seemed even the pupil was a deep yellow, and the sclera a bright one, nearly white but still with just a hint to it. And they were so soft, so gentle in appearance, like the most gentle of souls were housed behind those eyes.

As Mike internally admired the appearance of the bizarre man that stood before him, he couldn't help but catch his breath as the eyes met his. The eyes themselves seemed to be smiling, and soon the face joined in as well, a soft expression to the man that emerged from the suit. "Well, I'll take that look as a good one, aye?" the man said, his voice now so clear. It was just like the voice that came from the animatronic, now free of static.

"Uh..." was all Mike could utter, watching as the man took the suit to put it to the side, allowing for full view of him. The man took a step, before crouching down to be level with the sitting man. He gave a chuckle, smiling still so brightly.

"Ye there, lad? Seems like yer a bit starstruck," the man teased, eyes shining with a playful hue.

"Um, yeah, that's... one way to put it..." Mike said, eyes unwavering on the golden ones that shined on him. "How is... how the... what?"

The man gave a chuckle, hearty sounding and so full of mirth. It was always a great feeling seeing the reactions of people when he revealed his true self to them, and it was no different showing this man. If anything, the pure look of amazement on the human's face made it even better; more satisfying. "How's this possible?" he finished for the man, giving a toothy grin, revealing he even sported canines like a fox would have.

Mike had to practically resist reaching out to touch the man, to act like an infant and put his finger in his mouth to see if those teeth were real. He nodded at what the man said, a slight blush appearing on his face. "Y-Yeah, uh... are you even Foxy still, or uh...?"

"Aye, that I am," Foxy confirmed, eyes twinkling with a spark to them. "And how is it possible? Well, ye'd have to suspend yer disbelief in order ta know. It's quite simple really, but tis a truth ye'll either find ta be hogwash or tha stuff o' science-fiction."

"Honestly I'll believe you, cause what I just saw... holy shit," was all Mike could manage, heart picking up pace in excitement. It really was like something out of a fiction novel, it was truly fascinating!

"Heh, fair 'nough, hard ta argue wit' what yer eyes saw, right?" Foxy said, standing back up now. "Well, ta put it simply, I'm not an animatronic, lad. But even with appearances, I'm not human either. I'm... more a mix o' tha two, I know there's a name fer it, but I always bloody ferget it-"

"Android?" Mike spoke up, offering up a word.

Foxy snapped his fingers, clicking his tongue and smiling. "Aye, that be it! I'm a robot designed ta look human, though I'm also design ta look, well, like this," he said, nudging his fox suit with his foot. "Obviously, can't go 'bout doin' both at tha same time, so I alternate forms. This that ye see right here's me more "natural" form. It's what I'm usually in, and what I was built initially lookin' like. Tha animatronic's more like a second pair o' clothes fer me."

"H-Huh... ya know, that raises more questions than answers..." Mike said, standing up from his chair now to look over the android. It was amazing just how seamless he looked; other than the eyes and teeth, no real part of him was obviously off. And even then, the eyes could easily be passed for contacts and the teeth were only noticeable with toothy smiles.

"Aye, I know. But we don't quite have time ta go ov'r 'em right now, so we jus' have tha basics fer now. Keep alive an' I'll be willin' ta answer any o' yer quarries, okay?" Foxy said, a slight smirk to his face as he watched the human admire the form he had. He really was quite proud of it, it gave a truly proper pirate-y feel.

"Um, yeah, sure," was all Mike responded with, eyes looking at the bit of muscle the arms held. _"Damn, not bad for someone that was just a ruined fox... maybe a bit too good,"_ he couldn't help but internally retort to himself._ "Oh, damn it, Mike, stop it. The guy just told you he's an android and your admiring his biceps. Fucking typical,"_ he swore to himself now, quickly looking away as he gave a little swear.

"Erm, ye alright lad?" Foxy said, looking down at the flustered human.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry, just... Androids exist... holy shit, am I dead and this is a dying dream or something? Cause this is just..." Mike started, before he noticed the rather grim look the former fox held.

"Don't be sayin' that, lad. Everythin' ye be seein' is real, not some hallucination or dream, 'specially not tha dyin' kind!" Foxy said, a little bit too strongly, but caught himself before he got too loud. "S-Sorry, I jus'... ye don't need ta be thinkin' like that, alright? Like I said, suspend yer disbelief, if even fer jus' a second."

"Oh uh, right. Sorry, Captain," Mike said, a sheepish look to his face as he rubbed the back of his head. _"Damn, there came the awkwardness..."_

"Yer alright matey, ye didn't know any better. But now ye do, so try ta be a bit more optimistic, aye?" Foxy said, leaning a foot to be propped against the desk behind him. "Now, we got precious few left, so let me run o'er tha basics. If ye couldn't gather, all o' us here are tha same; androids. Bonnie, Chica, Freddy, an' I. Just they probably won't be so willin' ta show their true bodies ta ye, 'specially not Freddy given 'is distrust o' guards."

Mike nodded, simply keeping quiet now to let Foxy explain.

"As I said, Freddy has some sort o' vendetta 'gainst guards, an' it all pertains ta a certain event that happened a long while back; survive tomorrow and I should be able ta cover it. Which brings me ta this next segment; what I'm plannin' on doin', now that we're accustomed ta each other."

"Every night that ye be workin', yer gonna have ta be fightin' ta keep alive. Stayin' alert, focused, an' aware o' yer situation. But every night, I'll grant ye an hour o' respite. This hour, I'll come ta tha office an' we can jus' hang; I can answer whatever questions ye have, we can jus' buddy up, do whatever ye wish. All tha while, I swear ta ye, I won't let a single soul hurt ye; a cap'n promise, lad, ye get me?"

"Uh, yeah..." Mike said, listening out to make sure he didn't miss any important info.

"Tha time I come each night will be different, as I both like ta spice it up an' make sure ye don't get too comfy or hopefully I'll always be 'round ta help out. Ye gotta fend fer yerself mostly, got that?"

"Right."

"Good, good. Tomorrow I'll try ta come fairly early, that way ye can ask yer questions an' I can better explain what goes on here. 'til then, all I can say is, keep an eye on Pirate Cove. That's where I'll be residin', an' trust me when I say I really don't wanna be tha one ta get ye. I want ye out o' here alive an' breathin', not a pile o' mush like tha others 'fore ye."

"Wait... you're still going to go after me...?" Mike said, a bit of a defeated and surprised sound to his voice.

Foxy frowned, not liking the tone the man took, but it was expected, given the situation. "Sadly so lad. I hate doin' it, but well, I owe Freddy in a way, an' he wants me ta repay 'im by doin' this. No hard feelings, but I jus'... gotta do it. Though I'll definitely be way more lax compared ta tha others, no worries 'bout that there. Jus' make sure ta keep watch o' Pirate Cove, one eye always on it."

"Alright then," Mike said, still sounding rather sad at the fact his new acquaintance was an active threat.

As he said that, a bell sounded out within the office, signalling the end of the night shift. Foxy looked up at the clock, confirming it was indeed 6 o'clock; the end of tonight's hunt. With that, he grunted, going to pick up his animatronic suit as he looked at the human one last time. "Well, ye did it lad. Ye survived tha night. Now let's see ye survive more. Head home, get some well-deserved rest... an' brace yerself fer tomorrow, fer it won't be nearly as easy as today was. Can I get a sailor's oath from ye, Mister Schmidt?"

"Oh, uh... sure?" Mike said, or well, more so questioned. The unwavering look the android gave made Mike go a bit sheepish as he straightened his back out. "I mean, yes Captain! You can count on it!" he said, with affirmation to his voice.

Foxy beamed at that, going over to pat the man on the back. "Good on ye, lad! Keep that optimism up, an' I'll have no doubt you'll get out o' here! Now then, been nice meetin' ya, Mister Schmidt, an' I look forward ta this partnership. Have a good day lad, an' see ye tomorrow!" Foxy said, giving a two finger salute before he began to leave.

"Uh, yeah, sure..." Mike muttered, staying quiet for a moment before speaking up once more. "Oh, uh, Captain?"

Foxy froze as he looked behind his shoulder back at Mike. "Aye? What is it?"

"You can uh... just call me Mike. Mister Schmidt seems a bit too formal for my tastes," Mike said, rubbing the back of his head as a blush began to return to his face.

Foxy smiled at this, nodding in confirmation. "Then ye can jus' call me Foxy then. No need fer fermalities among friends, aye?" he said, giving a hearty chuckle as he turned around again. With that, he finally disappeared down the hallway, whistling a sea shanty to himself.

Mike watched as the android disappeared down the hallway, whistle gradually getting quieter until he finally heard it silenced behind a door. Once the building was dead silent again, Mike collapsed back into his chair as his head began to race with so many questions that so far had no answers.

_"Well... that happened,"_ he thought to himself, his whole being feeling so very disoriented.

* * *

><p>Mike kicked the door open to the apartment, sighing exasperatedly as he threw his bag onto the couch. He had been absolutely exhausted on his drive home, especially since on his way back a crash had happened, so the roads were tied up for a while to get it straightened out. Kicking the door closed behind him, he collapsed into the small armchair next to the door and covered his face with his hands.<p>

He still could hardly believe what in the world just happened. He got hired at what he thought would've been the most boring job he'd ever apply to, and instead found out it was the polar opposite. A fight for his life for some sort of ill-sought after revenge. He had a feeling he knew what exactly it was for, but he was hoping maybe he was wrong, that it was maybe something... not quite as heinous.

If that wasn't enough, the discovery that the animatronics were actually androids in disguise... Of all the things the animatronics could've been, somehow that seemed the least likely, and yet it was the reality. It was so shocking, so unbelievable, but if this was one of Mike's hallucinations, it would've been the most vivid one he'd ever experience.

And in a way, he knew it was more than just a hallucination. Deep in his heart, he knew that it was something beyond anything his mind could come up with.

Mike sighed, getting up from out of the seat and walking towards the kitchen. He wondered if his brother was even awake at this point, given that it was roughly seven now. But his brother had always been one of those bizarre morning people, so it wouldn't be too out of character if he was awake now.

Sure enough, Mike was greeted to the smell of slightly burnt pancakes as he walked into the kitchen. "Well hey, looks like night watch survived those abominations!" the young man said, looking up at the exhausted man while he poured syrup on his pancakes. "Oh woah dude, you look beat to hell. Job didn't go so well?"

"Surprisingly was a lot more stressful than I let on," Mike grumbled out, going towards the cabinet.

"What happened man? Don't leave me hanging here," the man said as he shoveled a bite of pancakes in his mouth.

"Don't really feel like talking about it. It was just exhausting as hell, let's put it at that."

"Aw come on dude, you can tell me! Not like I'm gonna go blabbering it off to someone! Was there a break-in?"

"No, nothing like that."

"Some kids get locked in so ya had to get the police involved?"

"Not even close," Mike opened up the cabinet, taking out a cup and the bottle of pills it housed within.

"The place suddenly caught on fire so you had to-"

"Ronnie, I said I didn't want to talk about it and I meant it. Maybe later or something."

Mike usually wasn't the kind of person to keep stuff bottled up; indeed, he was actually quite known by his brother for being a blabbermouth. For sinking every little detail into something, going on tangents like they were nothing. But this time, he felt... almost compelled not to say anything about the situation. He didn't really regard it as much, he thought it was because it would've sounded so absurd that no one would possibly believe it anyway, but he swore, part of it felt like something was... making him not tell.

Ronnie frowned at his brother, not really liking his adamance towards the situation. "I'm just a bit concerned bro; I thought the job would be super easy, yet here you are looking tired as shit. And you're even taking your meds, so something fucked must of went down to get your nerves high," Ronnie said, giving his brother a bit of a stink eye. "Plus, we both know you aren't the kind of guy to just keep shit locked up."

Mike sighed, fishing out a pill from out of the bottle. He knew his brother would push him on about it, but he really couldn't help it; even though it was absolute madness to assume anyone would believe it, still he wanted to spill out all the juicy details. But he couldn't, his mouth wouldn't move to say anything of the sort. Maybe he took the sailor's oath a bit more seriously than he thought...

"I'm sorry Ronnie, I just... I really don't feel like talking about it. It's nothing to worry about though, just some silly crap that I half wonder if I imagined it or not," Mike said, going over to the fridge now to get something to swallow the pill with.

Ronnie gave a little whine, but ultimately pouted on as he continued with his pancakes. "Well, if you need to talk, you know I'm here for ya, bro."

Mike smiled at the gesture, opening the fridge to pull out a carton of orange juice. "Thanks, Ronnie. Means a lot."

"Of course," Ronnie said, nodding as he shoveled in an extra syrupy bite.

Mike poured the juice into the glass, then once it was full he place the carton back into the fridge. With that done, he put the pill to the back of his tongue and swallowed with the juice, the lovely citrus a pleasant tingle on his taste buds. With a refreshed "ah," Mike sat down in front of his brother. "So, how was it like being alone again?" he asked, placing the glass of juice on the table.

"Peaceful," Ronnie said with a smirk, sticking his tongue out in a teasing manner.

"Oh, shut the fuck up," Mike said, a laughing coming from his lips as he rolled his eyes.

Ronnie gave a snort as he started to draw little patterns in his maple syrup. "Nah, but it was... a bit lonely, to be honest. I'm so used to you being here when I'm here, waking up to see you gone was just like... a bit disheartening, ya know? Felt like something was missing."

Mike blinked at this, quite a bit shocked his brother was being straight and honest and not teasing the shit out of him. He wasn't sure if he should be touched or concerned...

"Hey now, don't get the wrong idea, I still had a blast. Just, it's not quite the same without my worrywart big bro," Ronnie said, taking another large bite of pancakes.

"Well uh... love you too?" Mike said, shrugging as he wasn't sure how to respond to that.

"Pfft, yeah, if that's what you call it," Ronnie said, a little laugh coming from between chewing teeth.

"Shut up, nerd," Mike said, taking another deep sip of orange juice. "I missed you too. Just not the same without having my living headache always around."

"Oh, that's what I am now?" Ronnie asked, a surprised chuckled coming from his lips.

"Yup. A personification of a migraine."

"Nice."

Mike shrugged, downing the rest of his orange juice before giving the cup a toss to the sink. "Well, if there's one thing I will say about the job, I'll say that it's not nearly as lonely as I thought it would be."

"Oh?" Ronnie said, interest now piqued as he looked up from his pancakes.

"Yup, there's uh..." Mike wasn't sure what to say here, but he didn't want to just completely seal up from his brother. And though he promised the pirate he wouldn't go into detail over what he was, he still did want to talk about him. "There's another guy working there too. Turns out I'm not the only night guard."

"Wait, what, seriously?" Ronnie said, a baffled look on his face now as the fork hanged from his mouth.

"Seriously! This guy, I guess you could uh... call him my boss. He's the head of security," Mike lied as best as he could, trying to come up with as believable of a story as he could.

"Damn, color me surprised then!" Ronnie exclaimed, pulling the fork out of his mouth. "So what's he like?"

"Oh uh, he's... well, to put it one way, he seems to be quite a friendly guy. To put it _my_ way, hot DAMN," Mike said, a bit of a cheeky grin to his face.

"Oho, I see where this is going. Hot for the boss, huh?" Ronnie teased, leaning forward to give eyebrow wiggles.

"Oh shut up, I'm deprived but not that deprived. I can just acknowledge a hot piece of man when I see it," Mike said, chuckling as he flicked his brother's nose.

"Of course. I've taught you well, student," Ronnie joked, winking an eye. "Well, hope you get along well enough with him. Can't go around pissing off the boss now, can you?"

Mike nodded in agreement, before yawning quite loudly. "Don't worry, I have more sense than you," he said, before rising from his seat. "I think I'm gonna go pass out for a day or two now. Absolutely beat, man."

"Hey now, can't do that anymore, you've got work to do!" Ronnie teased once more, laughing at his own smart remark before he shook his head. "Nah, but hope you get some good rest bro. Try to actually sleep and not netflix all this time, okay?"

"Alright dad," Mike laughed, going over to his brother to ruffle his hair before he wandered off. "Night!"

"Morning dude!" Ronnie called in a fairly singsong voice, finishing up the mess that was the remainder of his pancakes.

* * *

><p>"Heeeelp... meeeee..." the voice called out, deep from within the confines of the dark room. It had been so long since light had graced this small chamber, to the point that the being within had forgotten what it was like. All it knew now was darkness, isolation, being forgotten by time...<p>

"Heeeeeeelp... meeeeeee..." it cried out again, wandering about until it inevitably bumped into the wall again, like a blind dog trying to find its way home. Hard stone, too strong to break, but it knew on the other side freedom await. Pounding, pounding on the stone, hoping it'll cave, but ultimately all that happens is the sound reverberating through the room.

"Heeeeelp..." One last time, one last cry for help. It swore it could hear them, people, right there on the other side, but were they ignoring it? It was here, hoping for someone to remember, someone to care, but no one came. It hurt so badly.

The darkness still was the only thing that acknowledged its existence. "Heeeeeelp..."

* * *

><p>Foxy looked around, swearing he heard thumping come from within the walls of the break room. "Erm, there it be 'gain. Ye sure it's jus' tha pipes, Freddy?" Foxy asked, eyes glued to a particular part of the wall where the noise sounded out the loudest.<p>

Freddy nodded, not even moving eyes away from the blurry television as he sipped his coffee. "Indeed. If it were rats, we would be able to sense the heat signature. Only logical explanation there is to it."

Foxy frowned, not quite agreeing with that statement, but not wishing to start an argument with his friend. Taking a hold of the coffee pot, he poured himself a cup of the piping hot liquid and prepared it just as he liked it; a cube of sugar and some nice hazelnut creamer. "Them be tha noisiest pipes I ever did here, if that be tha case... Hasn't anyone checked ta see why it's so loud?"

Freddy shook his head, leaning back on the couch as the TV went to commercial. "The place is closing down soon enough. As long as water isn't coming from the walls, they could give a toss less. You know how they're like, Foxy; ever since Geoff died, they've really let the place gone downhill."

"Aye, that they have..." Foxy agreed, sitting down in the chair adjacent to the couch. "An' I know Jennifer means well, but she just don't have tha oomph like 'er ol' man did. They step all o'er 'er, they do."

"Indeed," Freddy nodded, looking over now at his friend. "Just don't worry about it too much, old friend. I'm sure if it was serious enough, they would've had it checked by now. They're stingy, but not controversial stingy. Not after what happened..."

"Wish I could believe ye Freddy, I really do," Foxy said sighing as he took his first sip. The coffee wasn't really necessary, the androids had no concept of tiredness, but they did quite enjoy the taste the brew gave. It just was a proper start to the day, even when you're a mechanical being.

Freddy just sighed, taking the remote and flipping the channel to see if something else was on. _"I know it's bullshit,"_ he thought to himself, _"But in more ways than one, I don't wish to know what really is making that sound..."_


	2. Second Verse, Worse than the First

**Chapter originally posted November 3rd, 2014. Edit posted February 23rd, 2016.**

**Warning(s): Casually Ableist Language**

* * *

><p>Mike's drive to work was spent in a distracted state of mind. Ever since he woke up, his thoughts had been a wandering mess; pondering just what had happened yesterday, the whole string of events that took place. It was something that felt incomprehensible, something that shouldn't be a reality; and yet it was. At least, he thought it was; it felt far too vivid to be a simple hallucination, far too complex. But he couldn't exactly rule that out, considering he experienced hallucinations quite frequently.<p>

The phone call was what stuck to him mind most of all, for some reason. In his head, he constantly repeated what little bits he remembered hearing, as if it was a broken record. And sadly, what seemed to repeat the most was the simple phrases of "Damage and death" and "Missing person's report."

It brought to mind a particular rumor he heard about the place, one he dismissed at first as an attempt to soil the pizzeria's already stained reputation. About how people just disappeared while they worked at the pizzeria, particularly the night staff. Like they had been ghosted away, to be forgotten except for the few who kept their eyes open. Those who couldn't be fooled by the excuse of "promotion" or "moved away."

The thought that an absurd rumor like that could not only be a hidden truth, but an even darker secret, surely sent shivers down Mike's spine. Any logical person would take this as a reason to report it to the authorities, or at least quit while they still had their head. But for some reason, the thoughts didn't cross Mike's mind at all. Despite his usually anxious nature, to dramatize the most simple of situations, the one that would most certainly trigger a panic attack unlike any other just… was off his mind.

He still knew about it, his mind couldn't erase at all the bizarre events that transpired in that simple little pizzeria. But for some reason, it never occurred to him to report what he saw; to quit and say the job just wasn't for him. Almost as if his mind had been blacked out from resisting…

Mike's thoughts were too busy on all that happened yesterday to even realize that little detail. After the tidbits of the phone call repeated itself a good dozen or so times in unison, the next thing that popped in mind was seeing that mass come out from Foxy. To see it shape itself into a human form, and out came a man who, by all accounts, seemed human, but obviously had that striking fact to him that not moments before he was literally a physical manifestation of static.

And the fact the man claimed to be a robot, a bizarre cross-breed of human and animatronic… Truly, it sounded like something out of a science-fiction novel. But how else could he explain what he saw? Other than the world's most convincing special effects, but even then there usually was some sort of telltale if that were the case. And the fact that special effects were typically computer-generated, to be seen in the movie and not in person…

Indeed, the ideas felt more absurd the more Mike thought about it. All of it, from what he witnessed, to trying to reason why he saw what he did. At least the man—who claimed to still be Foxy—said that he would explain to him whatever he asked. True, he'd had to take it with a grain of salt, but Mike always was one to believe first, and contemplate the sincerity of something later.

Mike pulled up into the parking lot of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. Looking up at that classic sign of Freddy and the gang with a giant pizza behind them, he prepared himself for another bizarre, and terrifying, day.

* * *

><p>Mike spun the chair around a few times, putting his bag on the back of it and sitting down. He had arrived to work a few minutes early, so hopefully that would mean he could have some time to adjust before the shift started. Taking the tablet off the desk, he switches the cameras over to both the show stage and to Pirate Cove. So far none of the animatronics seemed to have become active, as the three on the stage were still present and the curtain in the cove was closed.<p>

Mike sighed out, relieved that he didn't come into work with this already starting. Setting the tablet on his lap, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. _"Alright, second night now, you can handle this Mike,"_ he started to himself. _"Just need to make sure to keep calm, stay collected and remain focused."_ He hoped tonight would be a bit easier, given that he knew what to expect now, but then he remembered what Foxy said. That the night would no doubt be more challenging. With a sinking feeling, Mike turned off the tablet to set it down in his lap.

A few minutes had passed, now becoming 12 o'clock. Mike looked up when he heard the phone ring, expecting the call since he had repeated sections of yesterday's call so many times in his head, it was honestly maddening. Picking up the phone, Mike put the phone to his shoulder and held it in place.

"Hello?" Mike said, straightening up some more as he did.

"Uhh, Hello? Hello?" the same nervous voice from yesterday spoke from the other line. "Uh, well, if you're hearing this and you made it to day two, uh, congrats! I-I won't talk quite as long this time since Freddy and his friends tend to become more active as the week progresses. Uh, it might be a good idea to peek at those cameras while I talk just to make sure everyone's in their proper place. You know…"

Mike heeded the advice and turned the tablet back on. He had left the camera situated at Pirate Cove, and saw that the curtains were still closed in that area. Switching to the show stage, however, revealed that Bonnie was already absent from their spot. Flipping through the cameras a few times, he finally found Bonnie walking down the west hall. _"Damn, not wasting any time…"_ Mike swore to himself, readying himself for when he had to press the button.

The message continued as Mike kept looking at the cameras, "Uh… Interestingly enough, Freddy himself doesn't come off stage very often. I heard he becomes a lot more active in the dark though, so, hey, I guess that's one more reason not to run out of power, right?" _"Okay, was curious about that," _Mike thought again, flicking his finger a little in a nervous twitch. Seemed like it depended on the day what little action would be his go-to action in anxious situations.

"I-I also want to emphasize the importance of using your door lights. There are blind spots in your camera views, and those blind spots happen to be right outside of your doors. So if-if you can't find something, or someone, on your cameras, be sure to check the door lights. Uh, you might only have a few seconds to react… Uh, not that you would be in any danger, of course. I'm not implying that." Mike wondered why the guy seemed to be fairly insistent on the idea that this wasn't anything dangerous. Was he perhaps trying to keep Mike calm enough by giving false reassurance? Didn't exactly work if that was the intent.

"Also, check on the curtain in Pirate Cove from time to time. The character in there seems unique in that he becomes more active if the cameras remain off for long periods of time. I guess he doesn't like being watched. I don't know." Mike nodded at this bit of info, remember well what Foxy had told him about the Cove. To always keep an eye on it, never ignoring it for too long.

"Anyway, I'm sure you have everything under control! Uh, talk to you soon." The line went dead a few seconds after the message ended. Hanging up the phone, Mike checked to see where Bonnie was now. They were getting pretty close to the office, but weren't quite there yet.

_"Damn, no kidding when they say they get more active…"_ Mike thought, acknowledging how yesterday it took up until three for Bonnie to make it to his area, but it was barely past twelve now and they were closing in. Mike kept his hand hovered over the left door button, anticipating hearing the footsteps to signal he was no longer alone.

With his other hand, Mike continued looking at the cameras to make sure none of the others had budged. Chica and Freddy still remained on the stage, however Foxy was now peaking out from behind the curtain, staring straight at the camera. He certainly looked ominous, his jaw hanging low and his dead-eye stare unwavering. Mike could still hardly believe that creepy fox was actually a normal—and admittedly rather hot—looking guy outside of the suit.

His eyes glued to the Pirate Cove camera, Mike heard the sound of footsteps coming down the hallway. Not even looking up, he pressed the door button to close the door. After a few seconds, he finally tore his eyes off of the tablet and looked at the left door. Thinking about it, he probably should've checked first to make sure it was Bonnie and not just some noise he heard; he had to save power after all.

Turning on the light button, sure enough, he saw a shadow out of the window shaped vaguely like a rabbit. _"Okay, good call, good call…"_ Mike noticed that for whatever reason, neither Bonnie nor Chica would immediately enter the room when they got outside the doors. Honestly, he was thankful they didn't just take charge and barge in as soon as they had a chance, but it did make him wonder why they took a pause like that.

Turning the tablet off for a bit, Mike twirled the device in his hands and sat it back down on his lap. He cracked his fingers and stretched his arms out, getting more comfortable in the seat as he prepared himself for the second night.

* * *

><p>It was just about to turn two. The night had been surprisingly uneventful, given the warnings of increasing difficulty. Despite Bonnie's initial rush to the office, they hadn't left the dining area after they retreated. Chica hadn't budged from the stage either, still holding that trademark cupcake of hers. Foxy, likewise, hadn't moved beyond peaking out from behind the curtain.<p>

It was an odd calm, one he wasn't expecting to have today. Compared to yesterday, his panic was almost non-existent, having been only slight twinges of the heart when he thought he heard shuffling. But he wasn't going to complain; having a panic attack wasn't exactly on his list of priorities either. It was more-so just expected, given what the job entailed.

Mike stiffened up a bit when he heard a bizarre sound, something he couldn't recognize. He wasn't quite sure how to describe it; if he had to, it seemed to be best described as a distorted hum. Looking around the room, he tried to see if it was perhaps coming from somewhere in the area. When he couldn't find anything that looked like it would make that sort of noise, he put the tablet to his ear to see if maybe the noise was coming from it; perhaps as a sign of something going wrong. No such luck, the noise remained at the same volume even with the tablet so close.

He checked the doors just to make sure nothing was outside either of them, and when he saw nothing out of the ordinary, his brow furrowed in confusion. _"What on earth…? Where's it coming from?"_ Mike turned on the tablet to check all the cameras to see if maybe the sound would play on any of them. Still the sound didn't get any louder, and it only furthered the scrunched look on Mike's face. He gave one last look around the room, trying to see if maybe there's something he missed; some sort of other device he hadn't noticed.

When he still couldn't locate anything, he sighed out in frustration. _"I'm not sure if I should be annoyed or worried, but damn this sure is inconvenient…" _Mike thought, pouting out as he couldn't help but hear out the sound more. It was with this that it occurred to Mike that it sounded awfully… harsh. In fact, he swore, it almost sounded like whispering…

The noise gradually was getting louder, sounding raspier and harsher the longer time progressed. Mike was starting to get freaked out, covering his ears to see if that would block out the noise. It didn't, and in fact seemed to make the whispering sound clearer. Mike's eyes widened as he heard it get louder and louder, until it felt like it was pounding against his head.

The next thing Mike knew, his vision suddenly was going weird. He thought he could see vague shapes; some were small, some were large, and each looked an awful lot like the static he saw come out of Foxy yesterday. The shapes were all around him, morphing into the very silhouettes like Foxy had before, but unlike Foxy, they never changed to look completely human. Just vague shapes, hinting towards humanity, but making it very clear that something was off.

Rubbing his eyes to see if that would clear up his vision, the blackness that was accompanied by the rubbing suddenly flashed other images to his mind. Images of the animatronics, staring straight at him with unwavering, bloodshot eyes. Images of words, saying "It's me," over and over. Mike gasped, his eyes shooting open in an instant.

The apparitions were gone now, and the whispering had finally stopped. But his head was now pounding awfully, aching as if someone had just clubbed him. His breathing was heavy, his chest pounding roughly and sweat rolling down his forehead in steady rhythm. "W-What the HELL," Mike swore out loud, gripping his chest as he trembled.

Once his heart finally started to slow down, Mike took in a deep breath and breathed out slowly. Calming himself down a bit, he turned himself to his bag and opened it up, checking to see if he hadn't forgotten to take his antipsychotic. He was pretty sure he did—he always took it as soon as he woke up so he wouldn't hallucinate while he was awake—but once his head had settled down from the initial shock, there was no doubt in his mind that what he had experienced were hallucinations.

Taking out the pill container that had different slots for the day, he opened it up to Monday's section. Sure enough, the pill wasn't present, meaning he had indeed taken it. _"Oh well that's great, maybe I'm going even more crazy than normal…"_ He knew it would've had to kick in by now, given he took it hours ago. Sighing tiredly, he closed up the slot and put the pills back in his bag. _"At least I have an appointment soon…" _

He had a love-hate relationship with his hallucinations. On one hand, sometimes his hallucinations weren't that bad; it would be bizarre things or weird noises that would honestly get more of a chuckle out of him than anything. But most of the time, they terrified him; making him feel unsafe, uneasy. And that certainly was one of the more unsettling hallucinations he'd experienced; not at all like the silly ones he sometimes had.

He did remember the doctor had said it wasn't a cure all for him, that he'd still probably have hallucinations here and there, but hopefully not as frequently or as intensely. But that was a fairly bad one, one that made him feel sore once it was all over with. He usually didn't experience ones that were psychosomatic, but when he did, he always felt like a complete mess afterwards.

Sighing loudly and rubbing his hand down his face, he tried to ignore the pounding feeling in his skull and looked at the tablet, making sure none of the animatronics had gotten close during his spell. Bonnie had since moved to the supply closet, but everyone else was still in their place. _"Well, least they're considerate,"_ he joked to himself, eliciting a slight chuckle in response to his own joke.

Mike leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes again and breathing slowly; trying to get his nerves back in order. _"Well, knew I couldn't get away without having some form of anxiety attack,"_ Mike thought, fingers drumming against the arm of the chair. He hoped the animatronics kept up with their limbered pacing tonight; he felt like he needed an hour or five after experiencing that mess.

* * *

><p>It was a little past four now. The night had gotten a bit rougher over time; Bonnie had come a few times for a startle, Chica had started to become active, and Foxy was now outside of the curtain, looking like a mix of ridiculous and utterly creepy. The way his head was tilted, hook positioned almost looking like he was picking at his teeth… Mike admitted, when he first saw it, it managed a startled chuckle out of the man.<p>

Mike hadn't experienced any sort of hallucination after his episode, though his head still had a dull ache to it. He forgot to restock his pack with ibuprofen, so he had to make do with the pain until he got home. He only hoped it wouldn't get any worse as time progressed, like most of his headaches did. _"Maybe a little snack will help…"_ Mike thought, turning himself around to get access to his bag.

Mike went about unzipping it, pulling out the sandwich bag from one of the compartments and opening it up.. It was a simple sandwich, made of turkey, ham and cheese, as he didn't really have much motivation to make anything more complex. Just wanted something that would last him until he got home. Pulling the sandwich out of the bag, he scrunched up the plastic baggy and gave it a toss in the trash, before taking a bite.

Taking the tablet back off the desk, he sat it in a comfortable position so he could access it still while eating. Swallowing the bite he had taken, he took another as he switched the cameras over to locate the animatronics. Bonnie was in the backstage, Chica was in the restroom area, Freddy still was ever present on the stage, and Foxy… wasn't in Pirate Cove. A panicked _"Oh shit"_ was instantly Mike's first thought.

Mike couldn't hear running coming for the hallway, so he flipped to the west hall to see if he could find him. There wasn't a trace of the animatronic fox anywhere; not in the first section of the hallway nor the second section towards his office. _"Where the hell is-"_

"What'cha doin' there lad?" Mike's thoughts were interrupted by a familiar, sudden voice.

Mike jumped hard as he accidentally inhaled a bit of the sandwich. Coughing roughly to get the food dislodged from this throat, he spat out the bite of sandwich and gagged. Once he finally got the food out with a bit of phlegm, he took in a shaky breath, wheezing a little as he did. Looking up from the tablet, he was greeted to the presence of the man from yesterday, who seemed to have a mixture of concern and deviation to his face.

"Augh, holy SHIT, thought you said you WEREN'T wanting me dead!" Mike said, rather exasperatedly, running a hand down his throat as he cleared it free of any other debris.

Foxy gave a cheeky smile as he backed up to give the human space. "Hey, I wouldn't have let ye actually choke ta death, don't worry lad."

With another cough, Mike adjusted his position as he turned the tablet off. "Well, you're a bit later than "early," are you not?" Mike couldn't help but point out. He wasn't too upset about it, given that he was still alive even with his delayed appearance. In fact, Foxy's appearance gave him more of a near-death experience than Bonnie did all night.

"Erm, yeah, sorry 'bout that. Lost track o' tha time, quite notoriously bad fer doin' that…" Foxy said, a little sheepishly, rubbing a hand down the back of his head. "But hey, I'm here now! Counts fer somethin', right?"

"Dunno. You still gonna keep good on the word of protection, or do I need to start freaking out now?" Mike couldn't help but retort in a sassy manner. That's what people usually got if they startled Mike; usually a bit out of spite, but there was always a degree of playfulness to it as well.

Foxy looked mildly offended at that, but grunted and nodded. "O' course! I like ta keep good on me word, even if I do have me slip-ups. Hey, I'm partially human, after all! Gotta have me blunders."

"Was that a jab at humanity? Ouch," Mike said, feigning hurt as he put a hand over his chest.

Foxy just chuckled at that, clearing off a little spot on the desk to sit down on it. "What? Ain't that a requirement o' bein' human?" he replied with as he got himself comfortable. Once he was good and seated, he looked up at Mike with a twinkle in his eye. "Well, ye made it pretty far yer second night, Mike! Good job, not that many people get that far. Usually don't check tha cove enough ta stop me; quite a shame too. But ye did a pretty good job checkin' in this time, I'm impressed!"

"Ah, yeah, thanks I guess," Mike said, removing his hand off his chest as he went to pick up the tablet and sandwich again. _"To be honest, so am I…"_ he thought to himself again, before speaking up again. "So uh… This means I'm safe for now, right? No surprise attacks or anything?"

"Aye, that ye are, lad. Bonnie and Chica know I'm doin' me thin', so they ain't gonna interfere. Freddy… may be a tricky one, but not tanight. Not one o' his active nights, though tomorrow it will be, so be careful wit' that."

"Active nights?" Mike asked, a little confusion in his voice.

"Aye, active nights. When he decides ta pick up tha pace an' actually do somethin'. Which surprises me, he's tha one tha wants ta do this, yet he's not always active. Never do get his reasonin' all tha time."

"No kidding…" Mike said, about to take another bite when it occurred to him it probably was rude to eat in front of people. _"Damn it, but I threw the plastic away…" _Mike thought, eyeing his sandwich as he debated what to do now…

"Ye can still eat, lad. Don't mind a bit," Foxy said, seeming to know what Mike was thinking.

"Oh, uh, alright, thanks," Mike said, genuinely thankful both due to hunger and the fact he had no idea where to put the sandwich anyway. With that, he took a new bite, chewing as quietly as he could.

"So, matey. 'fore we do any sort o' talkin', I think it would be best fer me ta describe this event ta ye, so ye know a bit more on what yer up against. I did say I wanted ye out o' here alive, so that's tha best startin' point in makin' sure ye do make it," Foxy said, lightly swinging his legs.

"Uh…" Mike uttered out at first, taken rather off-guard at the generous offer. The look Foxy gave made him realize that was probably a rather inappropriate answer. Swallowing his bite, he decided to give a proper response. "Wow, thanks. Would be nice to know how this all works."

"O' course. However, gotta warn ye, this is probably gonna take a bit, so ah, get yerself comfy there. But pay attention, aye? I don't exactly want ta repeat tha whole thing if it turns out ye were zonin' me out."

Mike nodded, adjusting himself in his seat as he took another bite.

* * *

><p>"Alright, so where ta begin… Ye know there be four o' us, right?" Foxy starting with, fingers together with a look of contemplation.<p>

"Um, yeah?" Mike said, a little confused at the obvious question.

"Well, each o' us act a bit differently from one another. Bonnie an' Chica's way o' goin' 'bout is similar, but not quite tha same, while Freddy an' I handle thin's our own way. It's not too hard ta get, so hopefully ye won't run inta any troubles rememberin' how we work."

"Bonnie an' Chica both go 'bout practically tha same as each other, wit' tha only real difference bein' activeness an' which way they come from. Bonnie is tha most upfront out o' us, bein' tha one yer gonna see tha most often, an' always comes from tha left side. Chica isn't quite as active as Bonnie, but still more so than Freddy an' I, an' always comes from tha right."

Mike nodded a bit, picking some sandwich out that was stuck in between his teeth.

"Both o' them have a code o' conduct ta 'em; they both will wait outside tha door fer as long as yer lookin'. AKA, as long as yer eyes are peeled fer 'em, an' ye aren't starin' at tha cameras while tha doors are open wit' 'em there, they won't be a bother. They be in tha same boat as I am when in comes ta this whole deal, not really likin' it an' what-not, so they try not ta as aggressive as they can get away wit' it."

Mike had a look of understanding on his face when Foxy said that. "Well hell, that explains why they don't just immediately come in when they appear. Was half wondering if they were trying to fake me out."

"Aye, they 'ave a reason fer doin' that. Now, there's a wee bit o' an exception ta how they work; if ye look at tha cameras briefly when they jus' appear, they'll wait a bit longer 'fore they actually go in. Give ye some time ta react. Not much though, so better act fast if ye blunder up like that."

"I'll try not to mess up then. Usually can hear when they're coming anyway, so I guess I won't have much trouble with them," Mike took another bite of his sandwich, intently listening to Foxy's explanation.

"Aye, probably not. Tha two o' 'em 'ave tha least amount o' kills fer a reason, after all. Chica slightly less than Bonnie, but still a fairly close game. Now, better bring this up so ye don't just leave tha doors open an' 'ave a starin' contest wit' 'em both. Tha longer ye leave tha doors open when they're out, tha better tha chance they'll just completely disable tha doors an' lights. They're capable o' emitting a sort o' frequency that makes 'em inoperable fer a good day, so ye really best not lose yer main salvation, matey. Best ta just always 'ave tha doors close when they're 'round."

"Alright, good to know I suppose. Wouldn't just keep the doors open around them anyway, but that's pretty good incentive to do it even less than I would have," Mike finished up the rest of his sandwich, brushing the crumbs off of his hands. "Ah, can we go off topic for just a moment? There's something I'm curious about, and I don't want to wait till you're done explaining cause I have the memory of a goldfish."

"Aye, any quandaries ye be havin', I'll be more than willin' ta answer!" Foxy said in an encouraging manner.

"You mentioned that Bonnie and Chica have the least amount of kills… Which of you have the most amount, then? I figure it's Freddy, since you said this is all his doing, but…"

Foxy frowned pretty deeply when the man asked him that question, especially with how he worded it. _"Damn, should've kept me mouth shut…"_ he swore internally. Letting out a sigh, Foxy rubbed his face as he replied, "Ta be honest wit' ye, 'spite tryin' ta have as passive o' a role as possible, I do. People just… People don't check Pirate Cove 'nough. Wasn't really expectin' ta have that, erm, "honor,"" he said the last word with finger quotes.

Mike's face fell into pure concern at the revelation. Giving a bit of a whine, he started to back up a bit. "But you said…"

"I know what I said lad. But remember what I also said; as ashamed as I am ta admit it, it took me so long ta finally get tha gall ta do somethin' 'bout it. I'm… 'fraid I will still have me part in this, but that's why I'll stress ta ye again; keep an eye on Pirate Cove. Check it as often as ye can without wastin' too much power," Foxy said with a somber look to him.

"Why can't you just stop?" Mike couldn't help but blurt out, clearly rather upset and letting his emotions work over reasoning as he talked. "If you're as serious as you are about wanting me alive, why do you still take part in trying to kill me?"

"I told ye, didn't I? I owe Freddy, an' he wants me ta return tha favor by-"

"By killing. But why do you agree to it if you're so against it?"

Foxy had fallen completely silent at this. It was something that always was on his mind, and while he did have personal reasons, ultimately he couldn't come up with any explanation. He couldn't blame the man's hesitance, his questioning, but it still stung something awful. "I'm… sorry. There really is no good reason, but please trust me when I say I… don't really have much choice in tha matter."

Mike's face softened at the look Foxy held; so full of sadness, regret. _"Oh god, bite the hand that feeds you, why don't you Mike,"_ he scolded himself, shaking his head. "No, no, I'm sorry, I just… forget I said anything. I'm sure you have a reason, I'll just uh… not let you kill me."

Foxy was still so very silent, scarily silent in a way. Mike was genuinely concerned he hit a nerve beyond what a sorry could heal, but before he could start thinking of anything else to say, Foxy piped up. "One bit o' info I didn't care ta mention yesterday, I only come from tha left side. I… really don't want ta be tha one ta get ye lad. Please, keep good on makin' sure it don't come ta that."

"Ah, of course," Mike said, easily complying with the request.

With that, Foxy cleared his throat as he continued with his explanation. "Anyway, Freddy's tha last one ta explain. 'e's tha one ye really have ta be worried 'bout, since 'e's by far tha most aggressive. Like Chica, 'e only comes from tha right; however, unlike Chica, 'e won't wait fer ye at tha door. As soon as 'e reaches that office, 'e's gonna waltz right in an' take ye down. So ye really have ta pay attention ta where 'e is, an' 'ave that door closed when 'e's close." The way he went about the explanation without even a pause of hesitation showed just how quickly Foxy was at bounding back; when he did get sad, he wouldn't let it overtake him.

"Doesn't help 'e also tries ta stay out o' sight too; sneaky devil 'e is. So ye really have ta pay attention wit' 'im, cause ye never know if tha only thing ye'll be able ta see o' 'im is 'is beady eyes. Though there is a bit o' a clue as ta know if 'e's approachin'. 'e tends ta laugh when 'e moves, an' 'is laugh is quite… boisterous. Yer bound ta 'ear it. So that could be a good indicator o' when ta check if 'e's close. Doesn't always laugh though, so it's not tha most reliable way o' checkin' on 'im. But it's somethin' at least."

Mike nodded at his words, understanding more and more how this whole deal worked as Foxy went on.

"Freddy's also tha only one who'd get ye if ye run out o' power; darkness is 'is domain, so we take a back seat even if we were close ta strikin'. So that's 'nother reason not ta run out o' power. 'e doesn't immediately strike though if it comes ta that, I guess to add a bit o' tension, but it's usually no longer than a minute. So don't go thinkin' ye'll be able ta outlast 'im in tha dark. Or better hope ye run out o' power just 'fore six."

"Uh, alright… so that's it then?" Mike asked, now thinking he had a comprehensive grasp on how the situation would play out.

"Not quite. There's one more key component I need ta mention. Dependin' on tha night o' tha week, we're gonna act a bit differently. From tha beginin' o' tha week, ta tha end, we'll have various degrees of activeness. Monday's tha startin' point, an' Sunday is when things wrap up. As ye can probably guess, as tha nights go by, tha nights will get harder. So while Monday will be a breeze most o' tha time, Tuesdays would be a bit more complicated, an' so would Wednesday; an' so on an' so forth."

Mike let out an internal groan when he found it there was more to it. _"Damn, really wasn't kidding when he said there's a lot…"_ he started, before giving himself a mental smack at how petty that sounded.

"Saturday is consecutively tha hardest night though, since Sunday works differently from tha others. While Sunday has a chance o' bein' an absolute nightmare, Saturday's tha night that's likely ta give ye tha most trouble. An' that reason is 'cause Sunday is what I like ta call tha Random Night."

Mike raised his eyebrow a bit, giving the man a quizzical look, "Random night?"

"Aye, random night. It's tha night where our activity is anywhere between non-existent ta borderline impossible ta deal with. An' tha reason fer that is cause Freddy assigns us a number fer tha night. Dependin' on 'ow 'igh or 'ow low it is, it completely determines 'ow we act; one bein' tha lowest activity, an' twenty bein' tha 'ighest. So tha lower tha number, tha better. Sunday's a bit o' an oddball like that."

"So Sunday could either be tha easiest day ta deal wit', if 'e assigns us all as ones, or it could be yer certain doom, given 'e assigns us all twenty. Usually though, Freddy doesn't go beyond ten in 'is assignments; not entirely sure 'ow 'e decides tha numbers meself, but it usually remains single digits from what I've seen. So tha night ends up bein' fairly challengin', but still an easier deal than Saturday."

"Okay, I think I got it then…" Mike started, before being tutted by Foxy.

"Not yet, lad, still 'ave one more key thin' ta mention."

"Oh, sorry," Mike said, while internally letting out a _"fuck."_

"Freddy an' I 'ave certain ways o' actin' dependin' on tha day. Fer me, I usually don't cause any trouble on Mondays, even if ye check only seldomly; only exception bein' like ye did yesterday, an' 'ow ye didn't check tha cove at all."

"Excuse you, I did check the cove," Mike crossed his arms again, giving a pout.

"Well, ye didn't when I started peakin', an' that was a good few hours 'fore I jumped. So ye don't need ta slack off Mondays."

"Alright, alright. Sorry."

"Back on subject then, Freddy also has days where 'e won't be active. Fer tha first three nights, 'e won't be a problem unless ye run outta power. Startin' on Thursday though, that's when 'e becomes an issue; an' up 'til tha start o' tha next week, 'e's gonna be yer main worry. So be a bit grateful 'e isn't active all tha time."

Foxy was gesturing at this point, moving his hands in a sporadic manner to accentuate certain words, "There is a way 'e won't get off tha stage durin' 'is active days, but it's extremely unlikely ta 'appen, so I wouldn't get yer hopes up. Freddy won't leave tha stage if either Bonnie or Chica are still on tha stage; if one o' 'em are still around, no matter what, 'e's gonna stay in place. Like I said though, very unreliable, so don't go hopin' that'll 'appen anytime durin' yer employement 'ere."

Mike clicked his tongue in understanding, nodding some more as he uncrossed his arms. "Alright, all sounds pretty easy to get. Freddy's the biggest threat, but he's not always active. You're not active on Mondays, and I assume Bonnie and Chica always are active?"

"Aye, that they are. Bonnie is almost always tha first ta move, but there be some exceptions ta that. But otherwise, yea, they're pretty consistent."

"Okay then, got it. Anything else I need to know?"

"Nay, that's 'bout tha end o' it. Explained as much as I could. Only thing I'll add is somethin' ye probably already knew, but I'm gonna go over just in case."

_"I don't know whether to be grateful for the consideration or to swear so much, even this sailor blushes,"_ Mike thought, nodding in person but inside feeling like he was about to pass out from the lecture. Even if it was life-saving, didn't stop the fact it was unbelievably boring.

"This whole deal lasts fer six hours; from midnight ta six. No matter what, it will not start any earlier, nor proceed any later. So even if, say, Bonnie had just stepped inta tha room ta nab ye, if that bell sounds off ta signify it's six, then they won't be able ta do a thin'. Once that bell plays, tha deal's over fer tha night."

"So even if I was certain to die—like, pure moments away from meeting my doom—if that bell goes off, you guys won't do a thing?"

"Aye. That bell be yer lifeline matey, ye better appreciate that sound. Gonna be tha most relievin' thing fer ye here."

_"Sweeeeet,"_ Mike thought, letting a smile slip in person.

"So, need me to recap an-"

"NO! Oh, uh… no, no, I'm fine," Mike almost shrieked before Foxy could even finish asking. This made the pirate's eyes bulge out a bit, but he recovered soon enough.

"Got'cha matey," Foxy slapped his hand against his knee, making a loud smack as he did. "So, now that we have that covered, we can get inta some more interestin' questions! What be on yer mind, lad?"

* * *

><p><em>"Oh man, where to even start,"<em> Mike thought, eyes going up in a contemplative look. There had been so many questions that passed through his mind ever since the discovery, and yet he couldn't seem to recall many of them at all. Scrunching his face up, Mike thought long and hard, until he decided on a simple one. "Are you really a robot? Like, I know you said you are, and what I saw yesterday, pretty dang obvious you're not just human… but I can't help but be a skeptic, you know?"

"Aye, I am one. An' I can prove it ta ye, if ye ain't tha squeamish sort. Care ta take a gander?" Foxy asked, hand going over his wrist.

"Oh, uh… sure, why not?" Mike said, intrigued now to see what the pirate planned on doing.

With the confirmation, Foxy began to twist his hand around the wrist, until a light snap was heard. The hand Foxy's other hand was wrapped around began to twist in the most sickening of ways, reminiscent of a broken hand. The action alone was enough for Mike to flinch hard and make a gagging noise. Foxy stopped the motions when he noticed the strong reaction, "Ye okay, lad?"

"Holy shit, doesn't that hurt?" Mike asked exasperatedly, eyes bugged in a way most fitting for a man who thought he saw another man twist their hand backwards.

"Uh… no? I'm showin' ye how I'm a robot, remember? It's not like I'm breakin' me bones or somethin'," Foxy said, a little confused at the question. "In fact, don't even 'ave bones ta break!"

"…Oh doy," Mike actually verbalized, hitting his head with the palm of his hand. "I'm sorry, seeing that made me forget my own stupid question."

Foxy let out a laugh at the reaction, shaking his head at the silliness. "Yer fine lad! If it bothers ye, I can stop; though then I gotta say ye 'ave ta take me word on tha matter."

"Oh, I'm fine now. Sorry, I just… did I say I had the memory of a goldfish. Cause I really do sometimes."

"Aye, ye did. Done fergot it?" Foxy said, teasing the man now.

"Surprisingly no. Bit of self-deprecation on my part," Mike said, going along with the tease.

Foxy let a chuckle out, looking back to his hand as he continued the twisting. It wasn't long until a pop sounded out, signifying a complete disconnect. With that done, Foxy released the hand he was unscrewing, causing the hand to dangle, revealing the wires connecting the hand to the body.

Mike's eyes shot open when he saw the wires, confirming indeed that the man was robotic in nature. As if that wasn't enough, Foxy adjusted his arm to point the new hole towards Mike, showing what was housed inside. All sorts of bits of machinery could be seen within, from circuit boards to clockwork parts.

"W-Woah…" Mike stuttered out in sheer amazement, unable to resist scooting up close to grab the arm and examine the hole and wires. Foxy let out a light chuckle at this, not resisting as the man did his examination.

This truly was a marvel to Mike. Mike was what Ronnie lovingly referred to as a dork, liking all sorts of fantasy and sci-fi related, well, anything. So the fact the man was indeed an honest to goodness robot sparked every bit of passion inside the man; a childlike wonder at the sheer absurdity turned reality.

It took a bit of time passing for Mike to realize what he did, and when he did, he blushed brightly as he quickly released the arm. "Oh, uh… Sorry," was all Mike could manage as he backed himself away from the android.

Foxy smiled at the flustered look the man had, shaking his head and lightly laughing. "Yer fine, matey. I would've thought it stranger if ye _'adn't_ 'ad done that. Ye don't just randomly stubble 'pon androids e'eryday, right?"

"Right…" Mike said, still blushing quite vibrantly. "Um, can I ask why your hand is detachable like that? Sorta seems like a random thing for it to do."

"Well, fer two reasons, really. Tha major reason is fer maintenance; our parts bein' removable helps ta make sure e'erythin' can be replaced if any serious damage is done ta it, an' ta get access ta our inner workin's. Second… cause I could put me hook on if I get bored!" Foxy said, beaming at the second reason.

"Your… hook?" Mike asked, very baffled now at the exclamation.

"Aye! Got it custom made!" Foxy said, reaching with a bag that was tied to his side with his still-working hand. Untying the knot that kept it bound, the bag fell on the desk with a bit of a clang, signifying something heavy and metallic within. After prying the bag open, Foxy reached in and out he pulled a genuine metal hook, made from the shiniest iron Mike had ever seen. Indeed, it almost looked like silver.

"Oh my god, why do you even have that?" Mike let forth another quandary, now more questions starting to form for more answers.

"Well, I can't be a proper pirate without me hook, can I?" Foxy said, beaming. Setting the hook down in a standing position, Foxy disconnected the wires of his hand to let it fall on his lap. Mike couldn't help but shudder, seeing the hand disconnect from the body as if it were severed.

With the hand fully removed, Foxy tucked the wires inside of the hole, then reached once more for the hook. Adjusting it over the hole, he began screwing the hook in place of the hand, until it was firmly in place. Smiling, he carefully pointed the hook out towards mike, showing the sharp point it held. "Wanna feel?"

"Oh uh…" Mike stuttered, paling a little at the proximity of the point. "N-Nah, I'm good."

Foxy acknowledged the concerned, mildly panicked look the man had, withdrawing his hook away from the delicate human. "Alright then," he said, gingerly laying his arm on his lap with the hook still on it. He always did enjoy wearing his hook, it was a rare occurrence. With his one good hand now, he placed his other hand in the bag and pulled the rope tightly to seal it up once more. "So, any more questions on yer mind?"

"Well, another thing I'm sort of curious about is how exactly your… whatever you did yesterday, works? That whole static-y, messy thing."

Foxy smiled at this, perking up at the quandary. "Oh, me mergin'? Sure, I can tell ye 'bout that! First, gotta get a bit in character," he said, raising up his hook hand again. In an instant, the hook went from the metallic look to that of a mass of static, much like what Mike had seen yesterday.

"Ye see lad, I can break me body down inta these tiny segments o' data. These data bits are capable of fusin' with tha animatronic, integrating meself with tha machinery within. Because o' this, I'm able ta let tha animatronic do a lot more than a basic one could do! Movin' 'round, actual conversations, ye name it! O' course, there is limits; I can only do so much as tha suit was made for, so while I can talk, it's not perfectly synced with me voice, and while I can do basic movements, I can't, say, move me face in away way ta express meself."

"Woah…" Mike said, still feeling rather awkstruck at the static despite having seen it already. The body breaking down like that, forming into a mass of power… "Does it hurt?"

"Nay, just tingles a bit. Think o' an itch, it's basically that."

"Could I… could I touch it?" For some reason, that was on Mike's mind now. He wondered if the static was just as solid as it looked, or if his hand would phase right through it.

"Oh, so hook's a no go but this bizarre act o' nature ain't?" Foxy smirked, but obliged by extending his hand. "Careful, may give ye a shock."

Mike scoffed at the remark, but not too much; the pirate did have a point. Mike reached out his own hand to touch the mess of static that was Foxy's hook. Before he could even make contact, a sharp, shocking sensation went through his arm. Yelping out, he pulled his hand back rapidly, shaking it fairly vigorously to try and get the stinging sensation out.

"Ow! What the fuck was that!" Mike was holding his arm now, rubbing it to see if that would soothe the tingling feeling that was now present. It felt like thousands of electrified ants were marching on his arm, like a mixture of the arm being asleep and being itchy.

"I warned ye, didn't I?" Foxy retracted his hand, before it returned to its normal state.

"Not well enough apparently!" Mike kept shaking his arm, trying his best to get the uncomfortable feeling out. "It's like a static shock on steroids, holy hell."

Foxy chuckled at the man's words. _"Certainly is colorful with 'is language, ain't 'e?"_ he couldn't help but think. "Don't worry, it goes 'way after a few seconds. Yer not tha first person ta ask ta touch it, so I know a bit 'bout how it works."

Sure enough, the stinging feeling gradually faded away until it was nothing more than a tickle. Scratching his arm where it tingled the most, he let out a sigh in relief. "Okay, so you may have had a point about the hook…"

Foxy snorted, giving a playful smile as he settled his hook on the desk. "Alright. Anythin' else? Time's just 'bout up, but I think I got room fer one more question."

"Hmm, alright then…" Mike began to ponder what he might want to know now rather than later, nothing quite coming to him. Until a thought did, one that he had been curious about ever since he was a young boy…

"Why does your sign say you're out of order when it seems like you're not? I mean, yeah, you're suit's torn, but it's been that way for years! Why haven't they fixed you up yet?"

Foxy was quiet for a bit there, before sighing. "Ah, that… would take a bit too long ta explain. If yer truly curious, I can give a watered down version now, and tell ye tamorrow what it's about, but tanight I'm afraid is no good."

_"Oh god, no, we already had one long speech tonight," _Mike couldn't help but think. "Uh, watered down would be fine, thanks."

"Alright. 'fore I start, let me ask ye this. Ye know 'bout tha Bite o' 87?"

Mike seemed to freeze at this, "Oh lord, don't tell me…?"

Foxy raised his hand up as he shook his head. "No no, I didn't cause it. I'm just askin' if ye know, it's partly tha reason I'm decommissioned. An' yes, I'm not out o' order, I'm flat out decommissioned."

"O-Oh…" Mike said, not expecting to hear that be the reason he hadn't seen the animatronic's show is so long. That did raise another question, but since time was limited, he hoped that it would stay long enough in his head to ask it tomorrow. "Ah, yeah, I've heard of it. Why?"

"Well, an incident happened durin' one o' me shows that had parents concerned it'd be 'nother Bite o' 87. Due ta tha sheer 'mount o' complaints, an' tha fact me show had been 'avin' dwindlin' audiences fer a while, I was decommissioned. Me show just wasn't attractin' tha kiddies like it used ta, so tha 'eads thought it'd be best if I jus' retired."

"Huh…" Mike hummed. "But then… ah damn it, it's too late to ask another question, is it?"

"Not if it's brief," Foxy said, shrugging.

"Okay, well, tell me if it's not. If you're no longer part of the show, how come you're still here? Like, wouldn't they uh… dismantle you, if you didn't have a use anymore? S-Sorry ahead of time if that's a bit callous sounding, I'm just confused now…"

Foxy grunted at this, not in a bad way, but more in a startled way, not expected so blunt of a question. "Well, can tell ye right now that'd probably take longer ta explain than tha last question, so I gotta give 'nother brief answer. Don't worry, I've got a fairly good memory, so ferst thin's ferst tamorrow is I properly answer those two questions."

"Uh, okay then!" Mike said, quite shocked he hadn't offended the pirate with his question.

"Ta put it simply, it's a matter o' two thin's. One, I didn't 'ave a sole purpose 'ere. I had, an' in-fact still have, a second job that I do when me shows weren't playin'. Now that me shows are officially done fer, this second job be me only job now. Second off… it's got ta do wit' Freddy, an' how I owe him."

"Ah, so that would take a while to explain…" Mike said, noting how both answers left more questions than it did satisfaction. "Well, guess I gotta really make sure not to kick the bucket! Those questions need answers!"

Foxy let a chuckle at that, nodding in agreement with that statement. "Aye. An' I 'ave a feelin' ye be 'avin' more questions once those ones are answered. So ye need to keep kickin' in order ta ask 'em. Sorry I can't answer them tanight, but I really gotta watch me time. Freddy's a punctual man, won't let even a second slip by without repercussions."

"Fair enough," Mike said, looking at the clock on the wall. "When do you have to leave, anyway?"

"Here in a moment, sad ta say. It takes me 'bout a minute ta get back in tha cove, so I can't stay a full hour like I promised. Sorry 'bout that, by tha way…"

"Oh hey, nah, it's fine. I wasn't really expecting a full hour anyway. The fact it's that close to an hour is good enough for me," Mike said, understanding well that a lot of times, meetings or expectations just couldn't be met.

"If ye say so," Foxy said, pushing himself back up to standing. "Well, it's been fun chattin', Mike. I look ferward ta seein' ye tamorrow. Ye… will be here tamorrow, aye? Sorry, but jus' occurred ta me that I dunno yer schedule."

"Oh, uh, yeah! I work Monday through Friday, so unless I suddenly get deathly ill or in an accident, I should be here!" Mike confirmed, nodding as he spoke.

"Ah, alright then! Let's hope neither happen then! Until then, 'ave a good night, lad. Remember, keep an eye on Pirate Cove!" Foxy said, heralding his farewell as he waved goodbye, disappearing into the left doorway.

"Bye, Cap-… Bye, Foxy!" Mike said, waving back as well to the departing man. He then looked at the display on the wall. 32% power left. _"Well, the talk was both fun and life-saving…"_ Mike said, smiling as he picked the tablet back up.

—

"Welcome back dude! You look a lot better than you did yesterday, night went smoother this go around?"

Mike was immediately greeted by his brother as soon as he walked into the apartment. Ronnie was sitting on the couch, still dressed in his PJs and eating a bowl of cereal; the TV turned on to some early morning cartoons.

"Well, the initial anxiety of first day of work is gone, at least," Mike said, throwing his bag down on the armchair next to the door. "Mostly, anyway."

"Oh yeah, first week or so usually is the rough one. Don't worry though, I'm sure you'll get it!" Ronnie gave some encouragement, taking a bite of cereal as Mike plopped down on the other side of the couch. "Anything exciting happen, or just had a staring contest with those animatronics all night?"

"Well, I did have a hallucination…" Mike commented on, head leaned back against the couch.

Ronnie frowned when Mike mentioned that. He always took concern when Mike mentioned his hallucinations; mostly because of what happened in the past with them. How he would freak out for hours, be in intense pain, or feel like an emotional wreck once it was all said and done. "How bad was it, dude?"

"Gave me a bit of a headache, but it went away after a few hours. Scared the shit outta me when it was first happening, made me think it was ghosts or some shit. But I think I handled it pretty well, at least when compared to other episodes I've had," Mike was staring at the TV now, watching the show that was playing. On the screen, a mouse was trying to outwit a cat, using various things in their path to slow the cat's progress.

"Well that's good at least. Ya took your meds, right?"

"Of course, that was the first thing I checked once it was all over with. Hopefully this isn't a reoccurring thing, otherwise I'm probably gonna have to bring it up with the doctor and get new medicine. And I really don't wanna go through the hassle of more medicine, bleh."

"They probably won't give you new medicine immediately. If they get bad enough, they'd probably up the dosage, but you've only been on the meds for so long. Not enough time to properly get in your system," Ronnie said, watching the TV go to commercial. "Try not to stress yourself out too badly over it. You're bound to still have them every now and then, but it should at least help make them not as debilitating once the meds are really kicked in."

"Geez, when did you become a doctor?" Mike joked, head propped on his hand as he looked to his brother.

"You aren't the only one in this family with a fucked up head, remember?" Ronnie teased as he took a bite of cereal, crossing his legs as he sat. A meow was heard as a fluffy calico cat walked into the room, jumping on the arm of the couch next to Ronnie. "Oh hell no cat, you ain't getting my food again. Already had to dump a bowl out cause your fat ass drank the milk." He held the bowl away from the cat, giving it a stink-eye as he did.

The cat walked across Ronnie's lap, making Ronnie move the bowl away again. "No cat! Not doing this song and dance!" Ronnie laughed, about to playfully shove the cat down if it continued on with trying to reach the cereal. The cat didn't seem interested though, as it walked promptly on Mike's lap before settling down, purring quite intensely.

"Daw, hey there Fluffers!" Mike said, picking up the cat and snuggling his face into the colorful fur. The cat meowed gently at the movement, rubbing its head against the man's face. "Daaaw, whoosa good kitty kitty," He spoke in a bit of a baby voice, cooing at the cat.

"That cat is over ten years old, I'm pretty sure it doesn't need baby talk." Ronnie said as he moved the cereal back in his lap, smilng at his brother.

"All animals are babies though, no matter the age. And Fluffers is my baby, yes she is!" Mike petted the cat now, adjusting her position to lay more comfortably on his lap. He had always been a sucker for animals—big, fluffy cats especially—so Fluffers had been the source of his adoration ever since he first adopted her. And he couldn't help but act more than a little embarrassing whenever she came around.

"Dork," was all Ronnie said as he went back to watching cartoons. The show had since come back on; the mouse now had a gun, and had just set it off in the cat's face, causing the cat to lose their fur and get soot all over them. "Ah, good ol' classic cartoons. Can't get away with this stuff now-a-days, huh?" Ronnie said, nudging his brother a little. Mike simply grunted and nodded.

"So, how's the "hot damn" doing?" Ronnie commented on now, a devious grin etched onto his face.

Mike had been absentmindedly stroking the cat, watching the cartoon along with Ronnie. When the question came up, Mike gained the most confused look on his face. "The hell you-… Oh," he started, until it occurred to him what Ronnie was talking about. "He's fine. Gave me bit of a rundown of the place, so I'm not acting like a lost child looking around for their parents. Pretty convoluted and took god knows how long just to explain, but I feel I came out of it with some better understanding."

"Well that's good. Wouldn't have been a very good boss if he just left you in the dark, now would he?" Ronnie said, taking a slurp of the milk now. "Quite surprised you actually got the hots for him, not since… uh…" Ronnie was starting on about, until it occurred to him that mentioning past flames to Mike may not have been the smartest move.

And indeed it wasn't. Mike practically retaliated as one past lover instantly came to mind. The thoughts of all the unwanted groping, forced kisses if he tried to argue, and that one phrase that stuck to him like a barb in skin. _"You can tell, but not like anyone would believe you."_

"Uh, let's not go there, shall we?" Mike said, frankly enough. A hand traced down Fluffers' back, curling at the tail before going back to the cat's head.

"Right right. Sorry 'bout that," was all Ronnie said, finishing up his milk was a satisfied gulp.

Mike was thankful that Ronnie at least knew when he was stepping on toes, and knew when to back out of it. Picking up Fluffers to put her on the ground, Mike stood up to stretch out his body. Without a word further, Mike walked into the kitchen to get himself some well-deserved breakfast.

All the while though, that name he had tried so desperately to forget about now felt burned into his brain, repeating in various tones in his head. _"Louie…"_

* * *

><p>"So, you really think your plan will work?" Bonnie asked as Foxy and them worked. It was close to time for the pizzeria to open, but of course, things had to be set up before even the staff arrived. Table cloths and party hats on the tables, stages clean of dust and debris, the place situated back to normal after the night's escapades. Usually it wasn't a major task, sans the times kills were successful; but today, it was just a matter of picking up what got knocked over and making sure nothing was out of place.<p>

"Ta be frank wit' ye? No," Foxy said, admitting his own doubt at his idea. "Freddy be a stubborn man, an' ta go 'gainst 'im… No doubt, I be testin' me luck." Foxy looked under the table to make sure no trash or hats were hidden from sight.

"So why even get the guy's hopes up?" Bonnie inquired, adjusting the table clothes to be a bit off-kilter to match how the human staff placed it.

"'Cause I'm hopin' I be wrong," Foxy said, bluntly enough. "I'm sick o' all this goin' on. All tha death an' bloodshed. Singlin' out guards as all killers, expectin' 'em ta be tha same as Charles… I know Freddy means well, but surely 'e sees that this 'as caused more death than it 'as saved lives?"

"I would've thought, but Freddy acts so… cold about it. Mention it to him and he just disregards you, try to question it and you get those false reassurances," Bonnie said, picking up a screw that, no doubt, had come loose from one of the animatronics. _"Damn cheapskates…"_

"I know," Foxy said, brow furrowing a little in frustration. "But that's why I gotta at least try, an' more than jus' what I've done in tha past. Maybe I can get Freddy ta realize 'fore this be all o'er wit', maybe make 'im 'ave peace o' mind… But I dunno, maybe I'm jus' bein' desperate 'ere."

"Not really. Chica and I have wanted to do the same for ages, but… well, none of us have the courage you do," Bonnie said, looking over at Foxy. "You always seemed to challenge Freddy's authority, even if you still complied in whatever way. You don't want to step toes, but you have a moral compass that you're not willing to stray from. I… admit, I don't get why it's taken you so long to act out, but to be honest? I'm glad you are. If we can end this all, end it without any more loss of life, I'd say that's a noble cause."

Foxy gave a light chuckle at that dramatic mini-speech Bonnie gave. _"Always was good wit' their words…" _Foxy thought, moving the chair back in its proper place. "Well, thanks lax, it means a lot that I 'ave some support."

"Of course, Foxy," Bonnie nodded, brushing their hands together in a job well done. "I wish you luck with your goals, and hope you succeed. But I gotta say, I'm not holding my breath."

"Aye… neither am I," Foxy said, finishing up quickly as he saw from the corner of his eye Freddy come from the hallway. He had a feeling his friend had heard, but knowing Freddy, he wouldn't say a thing. _"This'll be difficult, but I can't jus' be complacent anymore. I gotta do somethin', an' if that means it counts me days… then I guess it'd be worth it."_


	3. Three's a Crowd

**Third chapter here we go. Took me a bit to start writing this one, since the beginning I had an idea for but didn't have much idea on how to get it written for a while. But hopefully I got it now.**

**So FNaF2 came out pretty recently. Turns out it's actually a prequel and not a sequel, so it sorta messed up what I thought the original lore of the game was. However, I'm not really gonna change my story because of it; I started writing it when I only had the first game to work with, and I'm gonna keep writing it as is. Make it even more of an AU that way.**

**Pretty nice game, although it honestly didn't affect me as badly as the first game. The first game's jumpscares startled the crap outta me because the screams for it were really unpleasant, but this go around the sound wasn't that bad. I liked the atmosphere more, and how it better used the sound, though I think the music box sorta ruins it because at the later nights you honestly can't look anywhere BUT the prize room. So it sorta kills a bit of the mood in the fact you can't really monitor the animatronics' progress after a set time. But oh well, guess they needed to make a new Foxy mechanic in some way so as to not let people just camp at the door and vents.**

**The tension also wasn't as good as the first game. Like sure, there's a lot more shit you gotta deal with, but because of that you're almost constantly being attacked. It doesn't build up any suspense like the first game did, cause you're always in alert mode. So it sorta suffers because of that as well, quite a shame.**

**Anyway, getting a bit off topic now, let's get on with the story! I wonder how cheesy it is that I'm making them play another video game in a video game fanfic, eh. Just the beginning anyway. Hope you guys don't mind I'm using an actual game and not just make something up randomly, I really had no idea what kind of video game to just think up so I went the easy route and used a real game.**

**Warning(s): Casually Ableist Language/Gore/Child Death/Child Injury** **[Section Four]**

* * *

><p>"Oh my GOD, there's another tiny pocket of poison I didn't see! Fucking hell, I hate the slime biomes," Ronnie moaned out as his character took damage from stepping in the green liquid. The poison blended in almost completely with the slime, making it nearly impossible to notice segments that were merely a pixel large. He used a bandage to make sure his character didn't die from the damage over time.<p>

"Yeah, it does suck a lot. But slime's easier to mine than fucking obsidian; that shit takes a good ten seconds with the tools we've got right now. We don't really have all that much of a choice," Mike said as he mined out a section of platinum ore he had found.

"Yes we do! Just go to a new planet, it's not like we gotta stick to this shithole! We've got plenty of coal to jump to, like, a desert planet or something!" Ronnie used one of his dirt blocks to cover up the poison as he continued his search for ore.

"But we've never explored a magma planet before, and we haven't even seen how many lower biomes this one has yet! What if we run into a village one, those pixels would be so great to farm there! Where's your sense of adventure?"

"It's where there isn't poison and shit all over the damn place. Come on man, it's not like there'd only be one village biome in the entire game!" Ronnie took out his character's axe as he attacked a creature that came into view. It wasn't aggressive, but they needed the pixels to make better armor.

Mike just made a whiny noise as he kept going lower, blocking off poison he'd see and mining whatever ore caught his eye. He really didn't like to just leave planets without giving them a thorough exploration, and he didn't want to go exploring without Ronnie close by. After all, it was more thrilling when stuff was found together, and not just one person finding it and the other taking a look on the other's screen. "The next layer's bound to be close at this rate, if it turns out it's just the core biome or whatever we'll jump then. Alright?"

"Whatever dude, just don't want to keep using bandages every five secon- oh COME ON!" Ronnie yelled out as he dropped down and landed on yet another puddle of poison.

Mike snickered at his brother's bad luck, putting down a torch to get a better look at the area around him. "Maybe if you went a bit slower, you wouldn't have as much trouble with the poison, eh?"

"Shut up nerd," Ronnie said as he broke a cell structure he ran into, harvesting the cell matter within. "Ronnie don't go slow for no shit! Gotta power through man, live in the moment!"

Mike shrugged at his brother's stubbornness, moving his cursor as he looked around the area. He moused over the bottom a little too far, and caused his toolbar to pop up to block a bit of his game. Mike took a peek at the clock at the corner just for the heck of it, and felt himself go extremely tense when he realized the time. 11:58.

"Oh SHIT, I'm late!" Mike stood up rapidly, his voice panicked at the revelation. He pushed the chair out of the way, stumbling a bit as he ran over to get his bag. "Sorry dude, I gotta go! Could you turn off my laptop for me? Thanks!" He spoke in a rushed tone as he bolted to the door, his bag slapping against his leg as he ran. Opening the door, he slammed it closed behind him, not letting off his pace one bit.

Ronnie blinked as he processed what the hell just happened. Well that was a sudden change of mood if he ever saw it, he'd never seen Mike be so worried about being late before; he'd usually at least put his things away before he left. Shrugging, he got out of his own chair as he went over to Mike's laptop, closing out the game and shutting it down like his brother had asked.

—

Mike drove into the parking lot, parking his car in the spot closest to the pizzeria. He took a look at the car's clock just to see how late he was; 12:10, a few minutes over the time he was supposed to be there. He swore to himself, completely upset that he had let time slip by like that. Turning off the car, he pulled the keys out and looked through the keyring for the pizzeria's key.

He was going to have to use the back door this time, since there was no way he was going to risk using the front door at a time like this. He had no idea if the animatronics were active or not, and he didn't want to take a chance and risk running into one of them before he could make it to safety. That back door was meant for emergencies anyway, and if running late for a game of being murdered wasn't enough of an emergency, he didn't know what would be.

Grabbing his bag, he got out of the car, slamming the door behind him as he went. He did a mad sprint as he ran to the back of the building, holding the key in his hand tightly. Once he made it to the back entrance, he panted hard and leaned himself against the building's wall. God he was out of shape; he got tired of running within a few seconds, and that jog was a good triple the amount he could handle.

When he managed to catch his breath, he held the key in his mouth as he opened up his bag. Fishing around a bit, he pulled out the small flashlight he always carried with him and zipped the bag closed. It was usually pitch black in the restaurant, so he needed the extra bit of guidance to see where he was going. Taking the key out of his mouth, he spat out the metallic taste as he went to unlock the door.

Once the door was unlocked, he pulled the door opened slowly and peeked inside. Turning on the flashlight, he took a look around just to make sure the coast was clear before he entered. Not seeing any traces of the animatronics around the area, he breathed out a sigh in relief. He quietly entered the building, closing the door behind him. He'd lock up the door when it was time to leave; right now he didn't want to waste anymore time being out in the open.

Moving his flashlight towards the location of the office, he tiptoed towards it so as to not make much noise. If the animatronics were active, he _really_ didn't want to give away his position; but part of him just wanted to make a dash for it and not have to be in imminent danger for so long. It was a conflict of worry if there ever was one; should he risk notifying the animatronics of his presence outside of the room and be quick with it, or should he keep stealthy with his approach yet prolong his vulnerability?

He dilemma soon answered itself when he heard a running sound come from the west hallway. Mike's breath caught in his throat when he recognized that sound, and charged towards the office as fast as he could. The footsteps were getting louder and louder, and he could vaguely see the shape of something coming out from the darkness. Letting out a scream, he stumbled into the office and quickly pressed the door button, making the door slam shut behind him.

There was pounding at the door once it was all said and done; three loud bangs in perfect synch with each other. Mike was hyperventilating at this point, clutching his now sore throat as he slid down the door, sitting on the floor and curling up a bit. Fuck, that was way too close; he swore he felt something try to grab at him before he made it. Panting hard, he rubbed his hand down his face as he tried to regain his composure.

Moving the flashlight towards the right doorway, his worry ended up igniting even more as he saw the yellow animatronic stare at him from the window. Trying his best not to scream again, he clumsily got off the floor and rapidly went to press the right door button, tripping over a little as the door came down and crashing lightly into the wall. Mike groaned out, sliding down again and now just laying on the floor; absolutely exhausted from the sudden panics he felt. God, this certainly wasn't a good night, was it? Not even 12:30 yet and he'd nearly died twice. Guess that's what he gets for running late.

Mike sat himself up and breathed out a bit, shakily getting up as he flipped the light switch on. Didn't want to just sit in darkness and waste his flashlight battery, after all. He collapsed into the chair and slumped down in an awkward position, his back nearly to the seat of the chair and his arms tossed over the arms. He made a "pfft" noise, blowing out in exasperation.

He looked up at the wall to see what the screen said. 98% power and three bars of usage. Adjusting his position in his chair so as to sit up, he picked up the tablet from the desk and sat it on his lap. He turned on the door lights to make sure the way was clear of any animatronics before he opened the door again; Chica was still present, but the left side was clear of Bonnie and Foxy. Opening up the left door, he turned the tablet on so he could get an idea of where Bonnie was.

Bonnie apparently hadn't left the stage just yet, which basically confirmed who Mike thought it was that nearly got him. It was terrifying really, knowing Foxy was capable of being so friendly yet still was out to get him ultimately. He couldn't let himself get too comfortable with the pirate, he decided; he knew he shouldn't before, but this experience certainly sealed the deal.

Mike turned off the tablet for a moment, looking at the phone on the desk. A 01 was flashing on the answering machine, indicating a new message. Mike pressed the play button on the machine to see what he missed.

"You have zero old messages, one new message. Wednesday, 12 AM," the machine sounded out before playing the message.

"Hello, hello?" the ever familiar awkward voice spoke out to him. "Hey, you're doing great! Most people don't last this long. I mean, you know, they usually move on to other things by now. I'm not implying that they died. Th-th-that's not what I meant." Mike made another "pfft" noise at that.

"Uh, anyway I better not take up too much of your time. Things start getting real tonight. Uh… Hey, listen, I had an idea: if you happen to get caught and want to avoid getting stuffed into a Freddy suit, uhh, try playing dead! You know, go limp. Then there's a chance that, uh, maybe they'll think that you're an empty costume instead," Mike made an even louder "pfft" noise at that remark; like that's going to fool fucking androids.

"Then again, if they think you're an empty costume, they might try to… stuff a metal skeleton into you. I wonder how that would work. Yeah, never mind, scratch that. It's best just not to get caught," wise words if he'd ever heard any. Don't get caught by the things trying to murder you, brilliant.

"Um… okay, I'll leave you to it. See you on the flip side," the message finished out.

"End of messages," the machine said just as everything went quiet. Mike held down the delete button for about five seconds, before eventually hearing the machine call out, "Messages deleted." He pressed the right door button's light again to see if Chica was still there, and sure enough she was; just staring at him with her beak wide open. Damn, why'd she have to be so campy today?

Mike turned the tablet back on, flipping to the stage and Pirate Cove to make sure the others were still in order. God, he was still shaking pretty badly from what just happened; his hands completely incapable of holding the tablet still at the time. At this rate, he was probably going to drop it, and he really couldn't afford to lose the cameras like that.

Mike sighed out as he leaned back more in his chair, trying to at least get comfortable even if he was still completely on edge.

—

It was now 1:28. Despite the rocky start to the night, things hadn't turned out so bad. Chica had come to visit quite a few times and would stick around for way too long, but Bonnie had yet to leave the stage and Foxy wasn't present behind the curtain. He was still rather upset about the whole running late fiasco, but he'd managed to stop shaking at the very least. His heart still felt like it wanted to explode at any moment though—going awkwardly between beating normally and pounding uncontrollably—and he kept jumping at every little noise he heard.

Mike had pretty much repeated in his head over and over to never do this shit again. He could've sworn the last time he checked that clock, it said it was just about 10:30. He'd have to make sure to not get distracted like that so close to work time, or at least check the clock more often than he usually did. Any other time he wouldn't mind so much; sure, he'd be a bit pissed at himself for letting time slip by like that, but ultimately it wasn't a blunder that would cost him too dearly. This time though, that wasn't the case.

Mike flipped on the tablet again, switching over to the east area to try and find where Chica was. When he heard the racket over in the kitchen area, he knew she had to of been there. Turning on over to Pirate Cove, he felt his heart go stiff when he saw the once closed curtains hanging wide open now. Quickly flipping to the west hall, his worry was calmed when he saw the man walking down the hall and not the animatronic running; showcasing it wasn't a violent encounter. Well, he was pretty early this go around, wasn't he?

Mike switched over to the stage one more time to ensure Bonnie and Freddy were still there, then turned the tablet off and sat it on the desk. After a few moments, he heard a knocking sound coming from the left side. Looking up, he was greeted by the presence of the android; tapping his hand against the wall to signal he was here.

"Ahoy matey, glad ta see ye still be in one piece!" the pirate hailed the man, walking in the room with a hearty smile plastered on his face.

"Yeah, no thanks to you. Holy hell, I'm gonna die of a heart attack at this rate," Mike said in a fairly exasperated tone, staring at the man as he walked in.

Foxy chuckled a bit to himself as he leaned himself against the wall, crossing his arms and staring back. "But I didn't get ye now, did I? Got pretty close, but ye _just_ managed ta sneak on by. Slippery lil bugger, aren't ye? An' quite a pair o' lungs ye got there, heh."

Mike looked fairly annoyed at just how casual the man was about this. He nearly _murdered him,_ yet here he was talking as if he just startled him out of his thoughts. "What were you even doing out so early anyway? It was only like, ten minutes past twelve, and I could've sworn I've gone longer periods than that without looking at the cove!"

"Ah, turns out I did ferget ta mention somethin' 'bout tha game yesterday. Whoops on me part, sorry 'bout that. Tha later it gets in tha week, tha less time I'll wait ta strike, with o' course tha exception o' Sunday if I get assigned a low number. However, I'll wait longer periods if ye at least check every now an' then; tha reason I didn't this time is cause I didn't see that light go on since I started peekin'."

"Sounds like you're honestly more trouble than you let on. Thanks for conveniently leaving that one part out, captain," Mike leaned his chair back as he kept giving the pirate a stink-eye.

Foxy shrugged at that, raising his arms as he gestured. "Like I said, just fergot. Ye checked tha cameras fairly diligently before, so didn't think it'd be much o' an issue. Which reminds me, why were ye outta tha office anyway? That be a certain death wish when I'm not around."

Mike sighed, spinning the chair around in half circles with his leg. "Did a whoops myself and ended up arriving late. Didn't even get out of my apartment's parking lot until it was already twelve; thankfully I don't live too far away though, so I wasn't like, extremely late."

Foxy frowned a bit at that. "Well, that explains why I didn't hear tha door open; was hopin' it was just a case o' I wasn't payin' attention ta notice. Ye really can't run late like that lad, it's far too dangerous. It would be a mighty shame ta see ye die cause o' a blunder like that."

"Oh, trust me, I'm not planning on running late again. In a way, guess I can thank you for that; being moments away from death certainly helped to nail in the idea that it's _really_ not a good idea to do that repeatedly."

"Mmm," Foxy hummed out at what he said. "There be any reason why ye were late? An emergency or somethin'?"

Mike made a "pfft" noise as he shook his head, "Nah, I just wasn't paying enough attention to the time. My brother and I finally figured out how to work the multiplayer in this game we like—Starbound—and I just got too distracted as a result."

Foxy gave a mildly confused look as the lad spoke, "Erm, I know most o' those words. What's a multiplayer an' Starbound?"

"Ah, right, ya don't really know that much about video games, do ya?"

The pirate shook his head, "Nay, just know they exist."

"Alrighty, not too hard to explain. Well, multiplayer is when you get to play together with multiple people, instead of going solo like most games do. It a different way of enjoying a game, especially if you've basically played out the game completely in single player mode. Usually it's best when it's with friends, but sometimes strangers can make an interesting scenario as well; if they aren't just flinging slurs at you for being bad at the game, that is."

Foxy nodded at that, stroking his facial hair as he listened.

"Now, Starbound is the game my brother and I were playing. It's… huh," Mike clapped his hands together as he gave a contemplative look, putting his fingers to his lips. "Mmm, actually it's a bit hard to describe it without using another video game as an example. Crap, uh…" he hummed to himself as he tried to think up a good explanation.

"Take yer time lad."

Mike leaned forward a little, his face scrunched up as he tried to string together words that described the game best. "It's… well, uh, you… you go exploring different planets, and you look for ore to make stuff with. And uh… ya build stuff with blocks you mine or items you find. Ah, it's really hard to explain the base gameplay of it, I'm sorry. I guess the gist of it is you mine, discover and create."

The pirate gave a fairly understanding look, "So it's a game 'bout explorin' an' creatin', eh?"

"Yeah, I guess that's a way of explaining it," Mike nodded in agreement.

"Seems like it be fairly interestin'! I'd probably like it meself; have a certain thrill fer adventure, ye know? Comes with bein' a cap'n an' all! Shame though I probably won't get a chance ta play it, what with management not really givin' us much o' anythin' ta mess 'round with."

"I thought ya said you didn't have any time to do anything outside of work?" Mike said, a bit confused.

"Eeh, bit o' an exaggeration. We do have 'bout eight hours ta kill, since tha pizzeria doesn't open 'til 11 an' closes at 9, an' o' course tha game only lasts from midnight ta 6. It just doesn't feel like it most o' tha time cause we usually don't do anythin' those eight hours. We _do _have some things ta play 'round with, but honestly they're such a mess ta deal with we don't bother most o' tha time. Only if we're _extremely_ bored."

"Oh? What do you got to work with?"

"A computer that barely works, a TV that's probably been 'round since before tha pizzeria even was a thought, an' a radio that plays static most o' tha time. Tha TV's probably tha most functional o' tha bunch, but due ta age tha picture fer it is pretty awful. An' we don't have many channels anyway, so not like we can watch much more than just news programs."

"Damn, that honestly sounds pretty sucky. I dunno what I'd do if I didn't have at least a semi-decent laptop. How badly does the computer work?"

"It takes 'bout two minutes fer it ta open an' load somethin', that's how badly."

Mike flinched slightly at that. Lord, if there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was slow computers. His patience wore out quickly if it took just a few seconds longer than normal to load stuff, so he'd probably be in agony with minutes. "Yeesh, yeah, that sounds pretty awkward to deal with. I guess they're too cheap to upgrade your stuff?"

"Aye, they don't see much point in wastin' any more money on us like that. Honestly, it's incredible we have as much as we do; the stuff's a fairly recent addition, an' it's thanks ta Jennifer that we even got what we have."

"Jennifer?" Mike gave an inquiring look.

"Aye. Jennifer's tha daughter o' tha lad that built us. Took o'er lookin' after us after her ol' man passed on. She understood we got pretty bored 'round tha pizzeria when nothin' was goin' on, so she got tha owner o' tha place ta build an extension ta tha buildin' fer a break room. Went as cheap as he could though, so it's a small room with out o' date technology. Bit ironic, considerin' they spent enough ta make us, but won't spend enough ta at least give us some decent entertainment."

"Yeah, that… doesn't really make much sense. Like I'm pretty sure it was probably more to build half of one of you than it is to buy those three things combined. Unless androids are actually a hell of a lot cheaper than I thought they were, but considering the fact they don't seem to be mass produced, it doesn't seem likely," Mike's brow furrowed when a thought just occurred to him. "Wait a second, if there's a break room, why don't I see it on the cameras?"

"Oh, that's cause there ain't a camera fer tha break room. Never bothered ta even buy one fer it, an' honestly we don't really go in there when tha game's in session. Sorta pointless ta bother with."

"Alright, fair enough I suppose. I guess if they're too cheap to get the kitchen camera fixed, they're gonna be too cheap to get a new camera entirely."

"Mm-hmm. Very strange way o' dealin' with money."

Mike's stomach suddenly made an extremely awkward noise; sounding like something was dying in a bath tub. Looking a bit embarrassed, he covered his stomach with his hand and looked away.

"Hungry lad?" Foxy inquired.

"Ah, yeah. I didn't eat before I left, and I didn't bring any food with me either; too much of a rush, ya know? I'm sorry if my stomach makes that noise constantly; can't really control it, ehe…" Mike rubbed the back of his head, his face flushed from embarrassment.

"We usually got some left o'er pizza in tha kitchen; if ye want, I could grab ye a slice."

"Oh, uh, ya don't have to go through the hassle for me. I'll be fine, my stomach will just sound like it's crying for a while."

"Nay, I insist! 'sides, sorta in a mood fer a slice meself. Ye like pepperoni?"

"Well, uh, yeah. Pepperoni's sorta the default, so it would be pretty awkward if I didn't like it."

"Aye, it is a staple, isn't it?" Foxy reached for the little bag that hung at his side. "Well, if I'm gonna be dealin' with that, probably best if I get this on then…" Pulling the string, he opened up the bag and put his hand in it. Once he pulled it out, he revealed what was inside.

"AAH HOLY FUCK WHAT IS THAT?!" Mike said in a fit of horror, retaliating as he saw the man pull out a hand from the bag. Jesus christ, did he just carry that around with him all the time? Was that part of a former guard? He felt pretty sick just looking at it.

Foxy blinked once, then gave a bit of a laugh at the man's reaction. "Haha, this be me other hand lad! I don't wear me hook all tha time; be pretty awkward ta explain ta people when I work, no? An' it would make it pretty awkward ta carry stuff. Hooks may be cool, but they're sorta inconvenient, ye know? I wear me hook whenever tha place is closed!" Foxy beamed at the man, tossing the hand in the air and catching it. "Pretty neat, eh?"

"I-I guess. I mean, it's better than what I thought it was; thought you carried around parts of people you killed, eugh. And I guess that explains why your hook was detachable." Mike said, adjusting his position again now that he wasn't as shocked.

"Aye, that it does! Honestly a lot o' us is detachable fer easier maintenance, but me hand's tha only part I mess around with any," Foxy held out the hand towards Mike. "Ah, if it's not too much ta ask, could I ask if ye could hold this? It'd make it a bit easier fer me ta attach tha wires."

"Uh, s-sure," Mike spoke in a shaky voice, taking the hand from Foxy. He whined out a bit at the feeling. It was cold and stiff, and felt startlingly real; like a hand that had been cut off a person.

"I 'ppreciate it lad! Promise it won't take me long!" Foxy said as he started to unscrew his hook.

Mike couldn't help but have his hands tremble a little as he held the hand, terrified at it. Even though he knew full and well it was fake, it just felt so real, so_ wrong_. He tried to swallow the lump that had since formed in his throat, and he could feel nervous sweat beginning to accumulate.

Foxy finished unscrewing the hook, putting it in the little bag and pulling the strings closed. He pointed the hole face down towards the floor as he shook his arm vigorously. After a few seconds, five colorful wires fell out of the opening. They looked a lot like the lines you'd connect to the back of a telephone. "Ah, there we go!" Foxy knelt down to be level with the sitting man. "Alright, can ye turn tha hand so tha openin' faces me?"

Mike nodded slowly, revolving the hand around until the metallic underside was towards the pirate.

Foxy took one of the wires and pressed it to one of the slots, snapping it in place with a click. Taking another wire, he did the same with that. "Uh, lad, could ye steady yer hands a bit? Pretty difficult ta get these in place with ye shakin' like that."

"O-oh, sorry." Mike lowered his hands so that there wasn't as much room for them to shake. Trying to get his mind distracted from the unsettling thoughts that were running through his head, he asked a question. "S-so, h-how do y-you know which o-ones to connect?"

"Ah, pretty simply lil trick! Tha color o' tha wires tells which finger it goes ta!" Foxy pointed to the two wires already in place. "Turquoise fer tha thumb, Indigo fer tha index…" He took another wire and snapped it in place. "Magenta fer tha middle finger…" He repeated this action with the final two wires. "Red fer tha ring finger, an' purple fer tha pinky! Pretty easy ta remember when ye realize tha first letter o' tha color corresponds ta tha finger's name."

Mike nodded a bit, his eyes glued to the wiring that now connected the hand. Suddenly the digits began to move, which caused Mike to let out a yelp and drop the hand. The hand now dangled by the wires, just inches above the ground.

Foxy let out a light chuckle, taking the hand and now screwing it in place. "Sorry fer tha startle, Mike. Just had ta test ta make sure they worked before I put it on."

"Uh-uh-huh…" was Mike's only response, holding his own hand now as his eyes were wide with fright. His heart had started to beat erratically again, and his breath came out in short bursts. Oh, he hated how every little thing seemed to startle the crap out of him.

Once Foxy got the hand screwed into place, he moved the fingers again and clapped his hands. "Right, there we go! That'll make carryin' tha stuff easier." Foxy walked to the right door, then turned around to look at Mike again. "Wanna come? It be safer than stayin' here, ye know."

Mike paused for a moment, before shaking his head. "N-no offense, I think I'll t-take my chances."

"Alright then. Just keep an eye out fer Bonnie, dunno if they realize that I'm doin' me visit now. Pretty sure if I run inta Chica she'll realize what's up, so don't have ta worry 'bout her," Foxy turned back around and was just about to step out of the room when he stopped himself. "Oh!" He turned his head around to look at Mike again. "Ye want a drink while I'm in there? We got a soda machine in tha kitchen as well."

"A-ah, I'll… just take a water," Mike was still a bit out of it, his head feeling light after calming down from the panic.

"Goin' tha simple route, eh? So as ta not clash with tha pizza? I like yer way o' thinkin' matey!" Foxy smiled to the man as he turned around again. "Be back in a bit!" he called out as he walked down the east hallway.

Mike nodded to himself as he watched the man disappear into the darkness. Looking over at the desk, he took the tablet off of it and turned it back on. He flipped over to the east hallway to see if he could see the man, and sure enough he saw him sauntering down towards the kitchen. He watched him up until he saw him disappear into said kitchen, and since the kitchen's camera feed was busted, that meant the end of his watch.

Mike switched over to the show stage, taking notice that Bonnie was now not present. Looking up from the tablet, he checked the doorway just to make sure Bonnie hadn't decided to drop in for a visit. When he saw that the animatronic wasn't present, Mike looked back down at the tablet and continued his search for the rabbit.

He flipped over to the second section of the west hallway to check and make sure Bonnie wasn't too close. The area was clear, but there was something different about the room; something Mike didn't pay any attention to. What he didn't notice about the area was that the usually Freddy poster that was plastered on the wall now was something different; an eyeless Freddy face.

Mike suddenly heard a giggling noise, like that of a little girl. Looking confused, he looked up from the tablet and jumped hard at the sight he witnessed. What looked like an empty Freddy suit was now in the room, yellow in coloration and ominous in appearance. It looked like it was staring straight at him, despite having no eyes in the eye sockets, and seemed completely immobile.

Mike scooted his chair away in fear, until he felt it hit the back wall. Whimpering out, he held out the tablet in a defensive manner as his stare was unwavering towards the suit. Where the hell did this come from; his mind raced at the thought. It didn't seem like a normal animatronic, and he hadn't even heard anything come in the room with him. Just that weird giggle.

Mike's mouth was open and quivering as he watched the suit, expecting it to suddenly lash out at him. When he thought he saw it move slightly, he let out a shriek and quickly covered his face with the tablet; his entire being shaking with fear. Oh god, this was it, wasn't it? Going to die to an animatronic he didn't even know existed. His eyes were closed tightly, waiting now for the inevitable feeling of being pulled away.

When nothing happened for a few seconds, Mike slowly opened his eyes back up as he lowered the tablet; expecting to see that animatronic be right at his face and ready to strike. However, when he looked up, he was surprised to see he was once again alone in the room. Letting out a whine, Mike looked around the area to make sure the coast was indeed clear. Scooting up his chair so as to have access to the buttons again, he pressed both door lights to make sure it wasn't outside in the hallways now. When everything seemed to be in normal order, Mike let out a shaky breath, relaxing himself a bit now that he didn't seem to be in imminent danger.

What the hell even was that? It looked like a Freddy suit, but the color for it was all wrong. And honestly it didn't even seem to feel alive like the other animatronics; it felt more like an empty suit someone just left in the room. Mike was shaking all over, his eyes wide and his chest burning in pain.

Was that another hallucination? If it was, it seemed oddly specific to have been something from the pizzeria. Then again, he _did _hallucinate the animatronics staring at him just yesterday, so maybe it wasn't completely out of the question. Rubbing his eyes, he jumped hard when he heard footsteps coming from the east hallway. Not even giving time to think, he rapidly pressed the door button, causing the door to slam down.

After a few moments, he heard a knocking sound coming from the door, followed by muffled words; he couldn't quite understand what they said, but he thought he heard "It's me," at the very least. Turning on the door light, he saw a human shadow outside the window. Relaxing himself once again, he pressed the door button again and saw the android standing in the doorway; holding two slices of pizza in one hand, a cup in the other, and a bottle of water under his arm.

"Uh, sorry about that, I just… got startled pretty badly. Didn't mean to close you out," Mike told the pirate as he walked back into the room, setting the cup and bottle on the desk as he took one slice from his hand.

"No worries matey, rather ye be cautious than take a chance anyway," Foxy held out one slice of pizza towards Mike. "Sorry that it's cold, we don't have a microwave in tha kitchen, an' I didn't want ta waste power an' time usin' tha oven."

"It's fine, I don't mind cold pizza," Mike took the slice from Foxy and gave a light smile. "Thanks for being so considerate. Honestly really made my night."

Foxy gave a smile back before picking his cup up, taking a sip of the soda he got. "It's tha polite thing tha do. 'sides, can't have ye starvin' ta death now, can I? That'd certainly be anticlimactic."

"Eh, I probably wouldn't starve to death, but I would've been pretty uncomfortable at the very least," Mike sniffed the pizza and examined it to make sure there was nothing off about it. Probably a rude thing to do, but he didn't exactly want to get poisoned if the robot pulled a sneaky on him. When it seemed like the pizza was clear of any foreign substances, he took a bite out of it. "So, you have to eat too?" Mike questioned.

"Well, we don't exactly _have_ ta eat; we don't really have a concept o' hunger or fullness. Do it more so outta pleasure, ye know? Food's pretty tasty, after all," Foxy took a bite out of his own pizza, staying quiet as he chewed. Once he swallowed, he continued on. "We technically could use it as an optional way o' gettin' energy, if we don't want ta sit around an' wait ta get charged. But we'd have ta eat a _lot _ta get tha same amount o' energy our chargers would give us; at least a good forty pounds fer a full charge. So it's a bit o' a waste o' resources ta do that."

"Ah, so you run on batteries or something?" Mike reached for the bottle of water, opening it up. It took a bit of force to get the lid off, so it was probably safe to assume the water hadn't been tampered with.

"Aye, have ta have some way o' bein' powered, an' cords only go so long. Plus it would sorta give us 'way if we just had a wire constantly 'round us. Tha batteries usually last a few weeks—sometimes longer if they're new—so we don't have ta charge that often. Takes a good few hours ta get full though, I'd say… 'bout four? Five maybe. So sorta gotta do it when we have free time." Foxy tapped his back a little to signify where the batteries were, smiling as he did so.

Mike was once again completely intrigued by the android; just when he thought he couldn't get more fascinated with how he worked, something new would come up to spark his curiosity even more. Mike's eyes glowed in an excited manner as he took another bite of his pizza. It was so thrilling to experience something this different, to learn about something this bizarre. Mike was just about to ask another question, but Foxy spoke up before he could.

"Now, I got a bit o' a question fer ye meself. When I was comin' back from tha kitchen, I could've sworn I heard ye yell out. And o' course, ye said ye got startled when I first came back. What got ye so upset lad? Would've thought it was Bonnie, but they were in tha kitchen with Chica when I came in."

Mike wasn't really sure what to say. He wasn't entirely certain about what he saw, and he was honestly a bit nervous to just tell the android he experienced hallucinations. He didn't want to be called crazy, he _hated_ when people called him that for something he couldn't help. Mike squirmed in his seat, trying to think up a reason without outright telling the truth. "Uh… I just… thought I saw something. Got me a bit on edge. It was nothing really."

Foxy hummed out in understanding, nodding his head. "I sometimes end up doin' that too. Misjudge what I see an' give meself a bit o' a fright. Glad ta hear it wasn't anythin' drastic." Foxy took another sip of his soda.

Mike was silent for a moment, before he spoke up again, "Ah… this is probably going to be a really dumb question, but I just wanted to ask, if it's alright?"

Foxy nodded, since he had taken a bite and didn't want to be rude. Once he swallowed, he responded to the man, "Ain't no question too dumb fer an answer. Shoot."

Mike had suddenly gotten really nervous about asking it now, worried beyond all reasoning that he'd say the wrong thing and cause the man to think less of him. But damn it, this was nagging on his mind and he needed to know the answer. "Was… was there ever a fifth animatronic?"

Foxy gave Mike a fairly quizzical look, before saying, "Fifth animatronic? Nay, always been us four. Like there's spare parts, if that what ye mean. But there isn't a fifth, entirely separate animatronic. Why ye ask?"

"Uh… I just… thought I saw another one. It sorta looked like Freddy, but was yellow instead of brown. Probably just misjudged one of the spare suits, eheh…" Mike rubbed the back of his head again in a nervous manner.

Foxy suddenly frowned pretty deeply at that, lowering his hands to his chest. "Yellow suit? Ye sure 'bout that lad?"

"Ah, yeah, pretty sure. I mean, it certainly was a different color from the usual brown, at the very least. Is… is something wrong?" Mike looked fairly concerned now at the sudden serious look the pirate had.

"Mmm… There was a yellow Freddy suit before, a spare we had that we never really used all that much. I could've sworn we threw it out ages ago though, what with tha…" Foxy looked like he really didn't want to finish his sentence, having a stern look on his face as he took a bite out of his pizza.

"… What happened?" Mike said, his curiosity alighted anew. "I-I mean, if you don't mind telling, that is. Wouldn't want to force ya to do something, heh…"

Foxy gave a look to the lad, swallowing his bite. "Do ye mind sad stories? Cause this isn't exactly a cheery one."

"Oh, no, I don't mind them," Mike shook his head, drinking some more of the water once he stopped.

"Alright then, guess it is probably best ta tell this sooner or later. Well… tha pizzeria's sorta been in a rough spot fer ages now, ye know? Never quite got as much business as before, customers weren't as satisfied fer tha same services, rumors o'er tha years that's been accumulating fer a while… Stuff that's ultimately what's causin' this restaurant ta close at tha end o' tha year."

Mike nodded as the pirate talked.

"Well, it all had ta start somewhere; after all, a pizzeria doesn't just get that reputation out o' tha blue. Back in tha summer o' '87, there was an… incident," Foxy took another sip of his soda, his look going more tense as he went on.

"Oh, was this the Bite of '87?" Mike questioned, suddenly looking more understanding.

Foxy frowned and shook his head, "Nay, they're two separate things. Only similarities between 'em is tha year an' tha fact they were both unpleasant. No, this was somethin' else," Foxy sat his cup down, leaning against the desk. "Ye see, we've always had guards around ta watch us durin' tha night. Had ta make sure no one outside tha business knew 'bout us, or tried ta mess with us. We didn't always play this lil violent game either… Nay, that didn't happen til after this was all said an' done."

Mike was completely silent as he listened on to the robot.

"One night, tha guard did somethin'… pretty unspeakable. Even now it still shocks me that it happened; he didn't seem like a mean lad in the slightest, so findin' out he did that was… jarrin', ta say tha least," Foxy's look turned very solemn as he continued on. "One night, while each o' us was in our sleep mode, he… managed ta lure in five kids. Wore that yellow suit ta seem like he was Freddy, ta make tha kids comfortable…" Foxy went quiet at this point, looking down at the ground.

Mike had a feeling he knew where this was going, but didn't speak up. His own look became concerned at the android's gradually worsening mood.

Foxy took in a breath and let it out, before continuing on, "If only we hadn't o' been in that stupid sleep mode, we could've done somethin'… Could've saved those kids, could've saved the restaurant, could've stopped-" he sighed out as he tried to get composed again, "Sorry, sorry, got a bit emotional there. Uh… well, ye can… ye can probably gather what happened ta 'em, right?"

Mike nodded, his own look turning sad at that. "He killed them?"

Foxy nodded back, he eyes glued to the floor. "Aye. Cu… cut up tha bodies an' stuffed 'em in our old suits while we slept. I have no idea how long it took him, or how long they were even in there fer. All I really know was wakin' up that mornin' was tha most frightenin' thing I've ever experienced," Foxy shuddered a bit remembering it, feeling the gore inside the suit was certainly an unwelcomed sensation.

Mike wanted to give some condolences in some way, but was completely drawing a blank as to what to do. Should he say something? Should he touch his shoulder as a gesture of compassion? All he could do was nod right now, feeling helpless that he couldn't help the android feel better. "Did… did they ever catch him?"

Foxy sniffed a bit, trying hard not to just start crying in front of the man. Not looking up, he nodded his head as his voice quivered. "A-aye, they got him. J-just… not f-fer murder charges. Nabbed h-him fer kidnappin', since tha police couldn't find tha bodies. Management…" he let out a rather frustrated sigh now as his voice straightened out. "I don't get why management did this. Instead o' givin' up our old suits ta tha police fer investigation an' evidence, they just… threw 'em away, bodies an' all. Didn't even give 'em a proper burial, just… fuckin' incinerated it all. An' they never told tha police 'bout tha bodies either, so tha kids were just labeled as missin' an' _possibly_ dead. I'm still angry that they did that; said it's cause they didn't want investigations on tha pizzeria ta slow down tha business, tha greedy bastards. Pardon tha language, I just… even after all these years this _still_ infuriates me."

"No problem dude. I'm getting upset just hearing about it, so experiencing it must of been taxing as all hell. And that really was just a callous thing to do, like holy crap they weren't even taking responsibility for something that happened in their own restaurant? What cowards."

Foxy nodded at the lad's words, glad at the very least that he was understanding. "It's not like it did tha restaurant any good; business was still worse than it was before due ta tha rumors that formed 'bout tha place, an' everyone called us 'Tha Murderia' once it was all said an' done. Couldn't fool a damn soul with that. But there's nothin' ta be done now; tha ashes washed away years ago, an' not like I can turn back time."

Mike nodded, still concerned about the bad mood the android clearly was in. He felt awful now asking about the suit; if he'd known it would be such a sensitive topic, he would've just kept quiet. But it did make him rather confused as to why he hallucinated something so specific to the pizzeria's history; especially to something he never saw. "I'm really sorry that I ruined the mood, I just… hell, probably was just a camera glitch that made me think one of the spares were yellow. I shouldn't have brought it up; should've just said I thought I saw something and leave it at that."

Foxy shook his head, finally looking up towards the man. His eyes were a bit teary, but he wasn't exactly crying yet. "No no lad, it's not yer fault. Ye were just curious 'bout somethin', an' it turns out tha answer wasn't pleasant. I'm not mad at ye fer askin'."

Mike frowned sadly at the man's face. Even though the man tried to reassure him that he did nothing wrong, he couldn't help but feel guilty. "Ah, do ya need a tissue? I usually carry some with me."

Foxy shook his head, wiping his eyes on his sleeve, "Nah, I'm fine. Just got a lil teary-eyed from tha memory, is all. Thanks fer tha offer though."

"Hell, you got me pizza and a drink. Least I could do is give you a tissue," Mike said as he took a bite of the remaining crust now. He usually didn't like to eat the crust unless it was stuffed, but he felt it would've been rude to just throw it away.

Foxy smiled lightly at the man, feeling a little better for the returned kindness. He looked down at his half eaten slice and took another bite of it; he hadn't eaten while he explained since it was a rough thing to talk about. "When I finish up me slice, guess it wouldn't hurt ta tell ye 'bout tha Bite while I'm at it. Get rid o' two splinters like that."

Mike had a worried look etched on his face. "Ya don't have to if your mood's too bad. Sure, I'm curious as hell to learn about, but I can live another day without knowing."

"Nay, probably best ta get that outta tha way anyway. 'sides, sorta was relievin' talkin' 'bout tha murders an' not lettin' it fester in me head. Even after all these years, it still affects me pretty badly, an' o' course tha others don't exactly want ta hear me ventin'; probably even worse off than me 'bout it, heh." He took a rather large bite of the pizza this time, finishing off what was left of the flavored section and leaving the crust. After a few moments of chewing, he swallowed and carried on, "An' I told ye yesterday I'd probably tell ye today; I always like ta keep good on me word. It's no trouble ta tell ya it as well. Unless, o' course, yer own mood's a bit too low ta handle it."

Mike shook his head again, taking the final bite of the crust and downing it with the water. "Nah, I could handle hearing some more sad stuff. Just don't wanna seem like I'm pushing you to do something ya may not want to do."

Foxy sipped his drink again and nodded, "Eh, no worries 'bout that then. I want ta do this." He bent the crust to fold in on itself, then put the whole thing in his mouth. Was rather awkward to chew, but he wanted to finish up so he could get started already.

Mike giggled softly at the silly look the pirate now had, his cheeks puffed out from the crust and a semi-awkward sounds coming from the chewing. "Hehe, you're more like a chipmunk than a fox, aren't ya?"

Foxy smiled as much as he could with a full mouth, happy to see the lad's mood go up a little. He swallowed the crust in tiny increments until his mouth was finally empty, then gave a light chuckle himself. "Nay, I'm still an' ol' fox. Don't have tha cute looks ta pull off chipmunk." He washed down the bit of pizza still stuck in his mouth with the soda.

"Eh, debatable, but whatever ya say," Mike took another swallow of his water before he screwed the lid back on.

Foxy smiled more at the compliment, before his look turned to a more neutral position as he prepared himself for the next story. "Alright, ready ta hear it?"

Mike nodded as he tossed the water bottle in between his hands.

Foxy leaned himself more on the desk, nearly sitting on it but still standing. "Well, tha Bite happened not too long after tha murders. I think it was less than a month, in fact, an' it ended up bein' what really sealed tha fate o' this pizzeria. After all, no amount o' burnin' tha evidence could get rid o' so many witnesses. An' with so many witnesses, there's no way tha reputation would keep golden."

Foxy took another drink of his soda as he rubbed his butt against the desk, trying to scoot himself up onto it so as to actually sit down and be more comfortable. Once he was partially on the desk with his feet off the ground, he continued on, "After tha murders, we ended up havin' ta build new animatronics fer us ta use; was just too much ta ask ta clean up an' fix up tha old ones, an' frankly ye couldn't pay me enough ta merge back inta that thing with a clear conscious. However, tha craftin' on tha new ones were… less than ideal."

He gestured as he talked, "Tha suits were a lot cheaper than tha old ones, an' tore a lot easier as a result. It wasn't uncommon fer a large tear ta appear in tha middle o' a show, an' that certainly freaked tha kiddies out. So we ended up needin' more replacements after that; that's why tha back room's so full o' spares. Not only that, but parts o' tha animatronic seized up a lot; causin' us to either fall over or get stuck mid-routine. Just 'bout every show, be it tha basic ones or tha ones we performed, had some sort o' mess up; some more noticeable than others."

Foxy lowered his hands to his lap now as he went to the more serious part. "Mine was probably tha worst o' tha bunch. Every few minutes tha limbs would get stuck, an' sometimes tha voice would even glitch out an' repeat on itself. But by far tha worst part was tha jaw; fer some reason, it would snap shut far too quickly sometimes, enough ta do some nasty damage if there was anythin' in between. An' there was no way ta tell when it would do it either; sometimes it would be in quick secession, other times it may take a few hours. All I know is movement certainly seemed ta help trigger it."

Mike had since starting sitting with his legs crossed and up in the chair. He leaned himself forward as he listened.

"Well, durin' one o' me special shows, I was walkin' 'round an' playin' with tha kiddies as were per usual; goin' on an adventure ta rediscover me buried treasure. Everythin' seemed ta go alright so far; didn't run inta any seizing issues or voice glitches, an' tha kids were havin' a blast. Fer once, it felt like things were doin' better ever since tha incident… didn't last though."

Foxy frowned deeply as he got to the grim part. "One o' tha kiddies ended up runnin' in front o' me instead o' followin' like they were supposed ta. I tried ta get 'em ta go back behind me, but that was when me legs locked up; causin' me ta fall right on top o' 'em. I managed ta catch meself a bit so I didn't just completely crush 'em, but since tha suit's still pretty heavy, I couldn't help but do damage. Kid was screamin' an' cryin', wantin' their mum somethin' awful."

He took a deep breath at the next part, shaking a little as he continued on. "I-I tried ta comfert tha kid as best I could, b-but it was hard since I couldn't move me legs any ta relieve pressure, an' tha employees were havin' a rough t-time tryin' ta get me off. I… I tried ta talk ta 'em, tell 'em Cap'n Foxy was sorry he hurt 'em, but that's when things took a turn fer tha worse."

He went quiet as he got to the next part, his throat feeling like it just wanted to close up and a tear going down his face, "Daw, shit… C-could I have a tissue now lad? D-don't think I can really c-control this one…"

"Ah, sure sure," Mike said as he reached out for his bag that was beside him. Unzipping the bag, he rummaged around a bit until he found where he kept the little pack of tissues. Opening up the sticker that kept it covered, he pulled one out and handed it to Foxy."

"T-thank ye lad, 'ppreciate it…" the pirate said as he wiped his face clean of the tears. Taking in a shaky breath, he continued on. "Things went… so much worse. As soon as I had opened up me mouth ta talk, tha jaw did what it usually did an' snapped shut way too quickly. An' unfortunately… tha kid's head was in between me mouth."

More tears started running down the android's face as he kept wiping his face, shaking hard and his voice stuttering, "I-I bit off part o' th-their head… so d-damn deep it br-broke though tha skull… an' their b-brain was visible… o-or at least, what was left o' it…"

Mike flinched hard at the words, the mental image being horrifying. He knew it couldn't have been pleasant, given that the phone guy said the frontal lobe was missing, but that was by far worse than he imagined.

Foxy's face was scrunched hard in pain, as he slid off the desk and hit the floor pretty hard, now sitting on the floor. He didn't seem too affected by that though, as he kept on, "Th-that's when tha s-screamin' got worse… Th-tha entire buildin' was f-full o' it. Kids an' adults that w-were once j-joyous now ran away in pure terror… Th-tha kid though… tha kid I bit… was f-far too quiet."

He pulled his legs up to himself now, curling up on himself as he kept shaking. "I-I was c-certain I killed 'em, th-they were so stiff, their f-face so ruined… I k-knew their mum was shriekin' at me, c-callin' me a monster… d-don't blame her a bit… f-fuck." Foxy's tears had started to roll down rapidly at this point, his eyes positively watery and his face contorted in pure agony.

Mike got up from out of the seat and sat next to the man, pushing the chair away with his leg so as to have more room. He certainly looked like he needed the comfort now, though Mike still wasn't sure what to do. Patting his hand against the man's shoulder, he tried to give comforting words. "A-ah, there there, it's okay?" Mike questioned himself; he was so bad at giving reassurance.

Mike gasped a little as he suddenly felt arms envelope him in a crushing hug, the android's face buried in the man's shoulders as his crying got uncontrollable. He could hear harsh sobbing coming from the robot, and could feel him tremble hard against him. Having a bit of trouble breathing, he wiggled his arms out of the death hold and hugged the pirate back, lightly patting his back. "A-alright, just let it out… B-but could you please not s-squeeze so tight? Sorta hurts…"

The hold was loosened as he said that, letting the man take in a breath. His shoulder felt absolutely soaked from the tears, but he didn't mind. The guy probably had this bottled up for a while now, the least he could do was let him spill out his emotions. Mike moved a hand to Foxy's head as he lightly played with the coarse hair; he wasn't sure if that would do much good, but he knew when he was in a bad mood he liked when people played with his hair. Maybe the pirate was the same way.

It took a few minutes for Foxy to compose himself again, his sobs gradually getting quieter and his trembling lessening as time progressed. Lifting his face off of Mike's shoulder, he wiped his eyes again and sniffed. "Ah, h-holy shit, sorry 'bout that. Sorta got all… emotional. D-don't usually get that way, heh…"

Mike shrugged, giving an understanding look. "It's fine dude, that shit sounded pretty harsh. I don't mind being a little wet at the shoulders."

Foxy had let go of Mike at this point, straightening himself out as he ran his hand through his hair. His face was completely red from the sobbing, and his breath was short. He nodded to himself, as he continued the train of thoughts he had that were interrupted. "T-tha kid was sent ta tha hospital, o-once I was off o' 'em. Pr-Pretty damn serious condition, I-I'm amazed they d-didn't just die right there. Turns out they survived, b-but their legs an' skull had been broken, an' tha frontal lobe was no longer there. Cost a small fortune in medical bills, since management couldn't get 'round it this go 'round; honestly amazed we weren't just shut down right there, b-but 'pparetly they pulled enough strings ta not become a hazard. However, as a result, me show was scrapped ta avoid potentially more accidents, an' tha rest o' tha group had ta be limited ta tha stage; couldn't walk 'round anymore. It was… it wasn't a good time fer tha pizzeria."

"No kiddin' man, I had heard it was bad but _damn_, that's harsh as hell. All because they were too cheap to just get the animatronics fixed, holy crap. They certainly had to regret it once it was all over."

Foxy nodded at the man's words, sniffing some more. "A-aye. It certainly put a large dent in tha pizzeria's budget; so much so they nearly had me scrapped fer parts ta recover some o' tha lost money. After all, tha only good I would be now was ta serve, an' they could just hire any ol' body ta do that. If it weren't fer tha others—fer Freddy, Bonnie an' Chica—I wouldn't even be here now. They saved me ass pretty damn thoroughly."

Mike put his hand back on the man's shoulder, rubbing it as he did so.

Foxy rubbed his face one last time before he looked over at the man, giving him a gentle look. "I'm sorry ta have caused our talk ta go so grim this go 'round, an'… Sorry I sorta used ye as a vent. That stuff's been brewin' fer a while now, so once it got tha chance ta, it ended up spillin' o'er. Really was rude o' me, we've only known each other fer so long after all."

Mike shook his head before he responded, "Nah man, it's fine. You're not the first person to vent to me before, and lord knows I'd probably be in a similar position if something like that happened to me. Venting really helps the pain, ya know? To be able to tell someone what happened and get it all off your chest; it's so relieving."

Foxy smiled lightly at the man's understanding. It _did_ feel nice to be able to just let it all out for once, instead of just dwell on it and wonder what could've been. "T-thanks lad, it… it does feel good ta talk 'bout it with someone. Even if it's someone I just met."

Mike returned the smile and nodded, looking up at the clock on the wall. It had said 2:46. "Ah, hey dude, when did you get here again?"

Foxy followed suit at looking and did a sheepish look when he realized how over the time he went. "Ah, I came 'bout 1:30, so I _really_ overstayed me welcome this go 'round. Gotta stop doin' that, otherwise Freddy won't let me keep playin' me game." Foxy moved his legs as he got himself off the floor, then once he was up he offered a hand to Mike.

Mike took the hand and hoisted himself up. "Thanks captain," Mike said as he straightened out his pants.

"O' course. Well, now that we got tha sad stuff outta tha way, hopefully that means tomorrow we'll have tha chance fer more pleasant interactions. Just gotta promise me ye won't run late an' get yerself killed before I even get a chance ta say bye."

"Yep, can agree to that. Don't plan on dying just yet, so no worries about repeats," Mike nodded as he replied, sitting back down in his seat. "If I do die, it won't be because I misjudged time, at the very least."

Foxy gave a light chuckle as he moved on to the left doorway, "See ye tomorrow lad! Remember, check Pirate Cove!" the pirate waved farewell as he walked down the hallway.

Mike had a fairly large smile on his face since then. He looked forward to tomorrow.

—

Mike went to open the door to the apartment, but was stopped when he realized the door was locked. Must've meant Ronnie was still asleep; usually if at least one of them were awake, the door wouldn't be locked. Taking out the keyring, he pulled out the apartment's key and unlocked the door. Took a bit of effort, since the lock was honestly awful, but he eventually got the key turned.

Opening the door, sure enough he saw Ronnie asleep on the couch; a blanket covering him up and his phone on the coffee table. The TV was turned on to a news station, and right now they were doing a segment on a recent murder in the state. Taking the remote off the table, he flipped the TV off so as to not waste power.

Ronnie's phone suddenly started to ring, playing out the techno beat it usually did. Ronnie snored out a bit and turned around, but didn't wake up. Mike picked up the phone to check and see who it was; the caller ID said it was Derrick. He answered the phone so his brother wouldn't wake up. "Ronnie's phone, Mike speaking," he answered.

"Oh, uh, hey Mike! Wasn't expecting you to answer. Uh, is Ronnie around?" Derrick said in a rather nervous way.

"Hey Derrick, Ronnie's asleep right now. Can I take a message?"

"Oh, really? Usually he's awake now, bit surprised to hear he's still sleepin'. Uh, don't really have much to say, I was just wondering if he could give me a drive to work today; car's sorta on the fritz, and probably won't be fixed til tomorrow. But if he's still asleep-"

"Hey, nah, I could give ya a drive if ya want! Just got home myself, but it wouldn't kill me to go out again," Mike walked into the kitchen, sitting in a chair there so his talking wouldn't bother Ronnie.

"Oh, you would? Well thanks! Sorta was worried you hated me and didn't really want anything to do with me anymore, heh…"

Mike had a bit of a confused looked on his face when Derrick said that. "Why would I hate ya dude?"

"Uh… well, you know… him?"

It took a moment for his brain to click at what he said, but once he did he frowned fairly deeply at that. "Oh, right. _Him_. Ah, I don't hate you cause of him, dude. No way you would've known he was capable of doing that; he seemed like a nice guy at first, anyway. Don't hold any vendetta against ya."

"Oh, well that's good! Was really worried you didn't want to give me the time of day anymore; like you never texted or hung out with me since, so sorta painted the idea in my head you hated me, ya know? God, I still feel fucking awful for introducing him to you, I didn't think he'd do this kind of shit."

Mike shook his head, before he remembered he was talking on a phone and not in person. "No dude, like I said, there's no way you would've known he'd be like… that. Besides, I _did_ like him before all that crap happened, so it wasn't like it was all in vain, heh…" He tried to pull off a faux smile, but his lips simply wouldn't cooperate. Good thing this was a phone call.

"Hnnn, still. Can't help but feel bad. I'd known Lou… I'd known him for years, I should've fucking realized something was up with him."

Mike flinched lightly when Derrick nearly spoke his name, but calmed down quick enough when he stopped himself. God, that name was going to give him trouble for a while, wasn't it? "Ah, can we go on about something else? Sorta don't wanna talk about this much more."

"Oh, yeah, sure. So, how have you been otherwise dude?"

"Well, finally managed to get a new job. Pay for it is absolutely awful, but hell, I'm finally back on the field again! That's something at least." Mike tipped his chair back a bit as he rocked himself.

"Oh yeah, I think Ronnie mentioned that a few days ago. It's at that pizzeria with the animatronics, right?"

"Yup, that's the one. Got a spot as a night watch, amazingly enough."

"… Why the hell does a pizzeria need a night watch?"

"I dunno man, my only guess is they don't want vandals to mess with the animatronics. Place is sorta in a rough spot, after all, so they can't afford to replace them if one got too broken."

"Well, yeah, that's pretty understandable, but I wouldn't have thought they would have that much trouble with stuff like that."

"Neither would I, but I guess they've had issues in the past and they don't want repeats. Whatever the case, it's… it's an easy job. Boring, but easy," Mike lied in between his teeth.

"Hm, you okay dude? You sorta paused for a second."

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just… had my train of thought interrupted."

"Care to talk about it?"

Mike went quiet again, trying to think up something that sounded plausible that would've derailed him like that. Taking a few seconds, his thoughts suddenly went to the android. "Ah, it's nothing bad. The job's pretty boring, but I'm doing something to make it be a little bit less tedious. Started seeing someone."

"Oh? How'd you meet someone at a night watch position?"

"Eh, long story. He's just a guy who happens to work at the pizzeria as well, though he's day shift. Stuck around a bit my first night to get me introduced to the pizzeria, and he's been hanging with me for about an hour each night so I don't get too bored at the job. Pretty nice guy."

"Ah, that's pretty cool! Sorta shocked to hear you're seeing someone so soon again, though; especially some dude you just met."

Mike just clicked at how he said that in a rather awkward manner. Made it sound like he was dating him, whoops. "Oh, uh, we're not seeing each other like that. Sorta blundered my words, sorry. I meant I just met him, and we're sorta getting acquainted to each other. Though… if I could be honest, he's not a bad looking guy. Pretty solid 7 or 8."

Derrick laughed at that, "Of course you still have to rate people. Good old Mike, eh? Well, glad to hear you're still socializing at least!"

"Mmm, he's the first person I've talked to in a while other than my brother, so I can't exactly say I'm still a social butterfly. But hopefully I'm getting better at talking again; sorta been lonely staying to myself all the time."

"Well, you can always call and text me if ya want! Hell, we could probably hang out some time again; it's been a while, hasn't it? Maybe we could go by that new burger place!"

Mike chuckled a little bit, "Sure, that sounds pretty great. I've heard their rib sandwiches are really good, maybe I could grab one while I'm at it. Get more caught up with one another, eh?"

"Yup, sounds like a date then! Let's do it soon, hah!"

Mike smiled at the talk; Derrick always was a blast to talk with, he was sad at himself for not trying to talk with him more. He'd have to try and get back in touch with him normally; he didn't want to sour their friendship, after all. Both of them remained quiet for a while, causing an awkward silence between the two. Mike eventually broke the silence, "So, when you want me to pick you up?"

"Oh, right! Ah, could you get me at around seven or so? I'll pay for the gas, and hopefully Ronnie would be the one to pick me up so ya don't have to wake up. I know how you sleep most of the day." Derrick said in a bit of rushed tone, just now remembering the reason he called in the first place.

"Sounds like a plan, I'll see ya at seven. I'm gonna go get me something to eat now, been nice talkin' with ya!"

"Sure sure, been a nice chat! Have a good breakfast or whatever you'd call it! See ya in a bit!"

"Bye dude," Mike said as the pressed the hang up button, closing up the phone and setting it on the table. He kept leaning his chair back, up until he nearly tipped himself over. Thankfully though his foot had managed to catch the leg of the table, making it so he didn't fall backwards and hit his head to the floor. His heart now pounding at the sudden adrenaline, he blinked slightly as he got out of his chair; going to the freezer to get some toaster strudels.


	4. Four is Death

**Fourth chapter now. Took a bit to get this one finished, I had a hard time focusing for long periods of time. Then again the last chapter was sorta a sudden finish, since I literally wrote half of it in a day.**

**I think after this, chapters are going to start getting shorter. I'd still like to keep a couple thousand words a go, but I dunno if they'll be able to consecutively have over 10k words. Mainly cause now we're getting off the introductions and going into more generalized stuff. However, now's when we also start delving into Foxy's point of view more, instead of just Mike's. I was gonna wait till about chapter 6, but then I got a brief idea for a Foxy scene that I liked, so came out a bit earlier than I thought.**

**Honestly I was expecting this chapter to turn out a lot shorter than it actually did. I honestly had to edit it down a lot, like the search section was meant to be much longer with casual banter between the guys, but once I realized "Oh damn I'm at 12k words" I sorta called that idea off. I hope the chapter doesn't feel too long, holy crap.**

**Also, after this I'm going to be going through the past chapters to do some minor word edits. Mostly to make sure there's no typos or excessive words, but also to make sure Foxy's talk is properly pirate enough, and to take out some overused phrases. I keep using "a bit" too much to describe things; I don't mean to but it just seems to happen. No idea how long it'll take, but hopefully it helps improve the little flaws the story had.**

**I also want to say, I am so SO bad figuring what a person's left or right is. Like if they're standing in a certain way, I always have trouble figuring out what side would be their left and what side would be their right. So hopefully I don't have it wrong, if I do let me know and I'll try to fix it!**

**And finally, I like to call this chapter the one that's gonna weed out the weak. I'm gonna go a bit more into detail about some characters, and I have no real doubt that some people are gonna be pissed about it. But hell, that's how I imagined the characters and I ain't gonna change it. Honestly it shouldn't be something to cause much stress, but given the topic it's no doubt gonna cause some friction.**

**In any case, hope this chapter is still satisfactory!**

**Just wanted to say also, according to Google this chapter officially makes this damn fanfiction novel length. Jesus fucking christ I went overboard, I'm not even close to being finished.**

**Warning(s): Unreality [Section One]**, **Transphobia mention briefly** [**Section Four]**

* * *

><p>Mike always liked driving out to the countryside whenever he had the gas to do so. It may have taken over an hour to get there and back, but it was such a nice change of scenery; leaving the busy city to go out to the peaceful landscape just outside of it. Looking through the various fields of vegetation and flora, admiring the rustic farmlands that kept strong even in these modern times, the silence so poignant you could hear the insects hum and the birds sing; it was so refreshing, so invigorating.<p>

Mike pulled off to the side of the road just outside of a wheat field. He thought this spot would be a good place to relax at for a bit; hopefully whoever owned the land wouldn't mind too much if he stopped here. Parking his car, he turned off the ignition and pulled the keys out. He opened his door, and was greeted by the pleasant warmth this day had brought today. This was by far the most comfortable it's been since November started; it was a nice change of pace to the usual cold weather where you had to wear layers to even be slightly warm.

Getting out of the car, he closed the door behind him and locked it up, putting his keys in his pockets once it was all finished. He breathed in deeply to smell the fresh air, scented wonderfully of grass and wheat. Smiling to himself, he walked out towards the field, a slight bounce to his step due to his great mood. He was glad that he somehow managed to save up enough money for the little trip. He certainly knew he needed it, what with his new job being probably the most stressful thing imaginable.

Moving into the field, he brushed aside bits of the wheat as he walked deeper in. He broke off one piece of wheat, twirling it between his fingers and bending it until it snapped in half. He rolled the broken pieces in between his fingers now, enjoying the sensation the wheat brought. Once he felt like he was in significantly deep enough to be surrounded by the grains, he squatted down and sat on the ground.

It may have been a weird thing, but he loved how the wheat towered over him while he sat. It made him feel so safe, so protected from the outside world despite being out in plain daylight. Giving a light giggle, he laid himself down as some wheat bended underneath him. He closed his eyes once he was in a comfortable enough position, his arms behind his head and his legs crossed.

He felt so at peace here, it was such a wonderful feeling. Getting out of that cramped apartment to be out in the wide open world, the sun lightly beaming down while bits of the wheat shaded him in sections. His chest felt positively light at this, so fluttery and free. He couldn't help but have a fairly large smile plastered on his face as he bounced his foot a bit, completely content at his surroundings for a change of pace.

Suddenly the ground underneath Mike began to tremble, vibrating lightly at first but progressively getting more violent. Opening his eyes up, Mike sat back up and looked around in a bewildered fashion, bracing himself against the ground as best as he could. What the hell, was this an earthquake? He'd never experienced one before, since the area he lived in wasn't exactly known for having earthquakes. But he couldn't think of any other thing it could have been.

Looking up, his eyes bugged out when he saw the sky was an unnaturally bright shade of orange; almost as if it were sunset, despite the fact that the clock in his car said it was only a little past one. Black clouds seemed to appear out of nowhere, forming twisted shapes that interlaced with the orange. He took notice that the wheat suddenly was wilting at an alarming rate, turning into a sickening brown as it bent in on itself. It didn't take long for the wheat to wither away completely, leaving a barren field in its wake.

Mike felt his throat close up, terror seizing through his body as he clumsily tried to get up. He didn't know what was going on, but he certainly knew he had to get out of here, _fast_. He tried to make a dash for his car, but the intense shaking of the ground only caused him to fall promptly back on his ass, his tailbone hitting right on top of a rock. Gasping out in pain as tears formed in his eyes, he moved his hand to the aching area as he tried to roll himself off the rock.

As soon as he moved himself, the ground started breaking down where he once was. Large cracks appeared in the earth, before they shattered off to show a bottomless pit beneath. The cracks kept spreading, going across the ground at an alarming rate and breaking it down as if it were glass. It didn't take long until Mike was completely surrounded by the unending blackness, his only salvation being the fact the little area of land he laid on didn't seem affected by whatever was going on.

Mike could only watch on in horror as he watched more and more of the ground cave in on itself, disappearing and leaving nothing but a void in its place. The cracks finally reached to where his car was, and broke down that area in no time flat. He watched as his car careened down into the abyss, eventually going out of sight but making no noise as to signify it hit the bottom. He felt like he could scream out at any moment now, but he was so petrified at what he saw all he could do was gape.

Eventually the ground gradually stopped trembling, until it was completely still again. The cracks had finally stopped, finishing its creation of turning the once solid ground into steep cliffs. The air was filled with deathly silence, the only noise now being the wind howling into the newly-formed pits. Mike simply sat there for a while, his entire being shaking as tears ran down his face. He didn't know what to do, he was completely isolated now; trapped on a little island of land surrounded by a sea of nothingness.

After a good few minutes of just sitting there, he tried to hoist himself back up, grunting out as he did so due to his still-sore tailbone. He managed to get back into a standing position, albeit leaning over slightly as he was unable to straighten out his back enough to stand straight. He breathed heavily as he simply stared off into the distance, looking towards the bits of solid ground that were now so far away.

What was he going to do? The only logical thing he could think up was someone perhaps driving by and realizing he was stuck, but even then what good would that do? Perhaps they could call for help, but what if the ground broke away before it arrived? What if no one ever came, leaving him isolated on this segment of land? Mike didn't like any of those scenarios, and could feel tears roll down his face out of the sheer hopelessness he felt.

"Come on Mike, just jump it! You'll make it, you've done it before, right?" a familiar voice suddenly spoke out to him, sounding as if it were right beside him. Jumping a little at the unexpected noise, Mike looked around to try and see where on earth he heard that voice come from. Turning his head around to look behind him, his eyes went wide when he saw his brother now was standing there with him.

"R-Ronnie?" was all Mike could muster, completely shocked to see his brother now be with him at a time like this. Where the hell did he even come from? He certainly hadn't come out with him, and there was no logical way he could even reach this speck of land without a helicopter at the very least.

Ronnie smiled out to his brother, "The one and only. Now come on dude, ground's not gonna last much longer! Just bend your knees and push yourself forward!"

Mike turned himself forward again, looking back out towards the land. Could he really just jump it like that? The ground had to have been a good hundred feet or so away, but didn't Ronnie say he did this before? Honestly, it felt like he _had_ done it before, but now he wasn't feeling so sure. He turned back around to look at his brother, questioning him before he did anything, "Y-You sure about this man? I-It's pretty far, after all…"

Ronnie gave a bit of an annoyed look at his brother's hesitance, puffing out a bit as he did so, "Look, either you do this yourself and jump it, or I can just toss your ass over there. Just sayin', it's probably gonna be more pleasant if you can control how you land."

Mike nodded at his brother's words, realizing it was now or never. Turning around again so as to face forward, he squatted his legs down and mentally prepared himself. He could do this, he thought, he'd have to do this. Powering his body forward, he leaped out towards the distant land.

He didn't even make it two feet. Screaming out in horror, all Mike could do was feel as his body whistled down into the chasm, darkness engulfing him in one sudden go.

—

Mike's eyes shot open as he woke up from the nightmare. He breathed out in an irregular fashion, blinking a bit as he was brought back to reality. After a few moments of recollecting himself, he sighed out and laid on his back, rubbing his face in a tired manner.

God, he hated when he had dreams that felt like they could be real one second, then the next go completely batshit up the wall. He especially hated it when the dreams were something nice, something that made him wish it was real and not just some figment of his imagination. He should have known it was a dream from the start; he hadn't had the money to go driving out like that for months now. All he felt now was a longing to actually go out of the city again, to lie out on an open field and feel the grass beneath him.

He really did miss going out of town, it was a tradition of his to go at least once a month to look out at the countryside. But then things got all awkward. Money became tighter, life felt harder to deal with, couldn't find a stable enough job after the fiasco with _him_; everything felt like it all crashed down in one fell swoop, and Mike had no idea how to deal with it. He hated feeling like such a mess, he just wanted to get over this and move on. But it was so much harder than he thought it would be, so much more strenuous.

Mike looked over to the nightstand that stood beside him. On it, a fan blew out towards the wall. He had pointed it away since he had gotten a fair bit nippy from it, but he didn't want to turn it off since he needed some sort of background noise to lull himself to sleep. Mike moved his hand towards the fan, positioning it to blow back onto him. He needed a bit of air after that mess of a dream, since he could feel a cold sweat going down his face.

Once the fan was back in its proper position, Mike reached for the phone that laid beside it. Picking it up, he pressed the button at the bottom to see what time it was. Squinting his eyes a little at the sudden brightness, the clock read out 7:29. Since there wasn't any sunlight coming from the window, it was probably safe to assume it was PM and not AM. Plus, it just would make more sense if it was anyway; if it was AM, that would have meant he slept nearly 24 hours, and he didn't think Ronnie would let him sleep through work like that.

Putting his phone back down, he stretched his arms out before he laid them to his sides. On his right, he could feel warm fur and a light vibration underneath his arm. He smiled as he recognized the sensation, moving his hand up to scratch the ears of the cat that slept beside him. The cat's head moved in response to the petting, rubbing her head gingerly against the man's hand as her purring increased in volume. At least Fluffers was here to make him feel better; he always did like when she would actually curl up next to him, instead of just laying on the kitchen chair or the back of the couch like usual.

He was still a fair bit tired, but he didn't really see much point in going back to sleep. He'd already slept nearly nine hours anyway; couldn't go much longer or else he'd feel like a groggy mess all night. Giving the cat one last stroke, he sat himself up and pushed the blanket off of him; getting off the bed and heading to the bathroom as were per usual. His legs felt a bit awkward—like they were hovering over nothing instead of being planted on solid ground—but Mike gathered it was probably just an effect from the dream. It'd go away soon enough, he thought.

—

Mike grumbled out as he shakily got out of the car. It had been over four hours now, yet his legs still felt like jello; hardly able to keep standing and wobbled at the slightest amount of pressure. Damn, that dream certainly had more of a physical effect on him than he thought it would. He guessed dreams about falling forever sorta does that to a person; he couldn't really recall the last time he had a dream like that, so he couldn't exactly remember how his legs felt afterwards.

Trying to close the car door with his leg, Mike nearly fell over face first when he lifted his leg. Putting his leg back down and steadying himself out, he made another frustrated noise as he resorted to using his butt, scooting the door closed behind him. Once that was settled, he leaned himself against his car and rummaged through his bag for the flashlight. He had arrived a good ten minutes early this go around, so he wasn't in such of a mad rush to get to safety this go around.

While Mike kept going through the inner pockets of the bag for the little flashlight, he swore he thought he heard the doors to the pizzeria open up. Scrunching up his face, he looked up from his search over to the pizzeria's entrance. Sure enough, he could see one of the doors close in, meaning someone had just entered the restaurant. His eyebrows raised, he walked himself over to the door; surely no one would still be around at this time, right? And management wouldn't just leave the doors unlocked, after all.

Mike leaned his face into the door, looking through the glass to see if he could see anything. All he saw was blackness in the building; no light to signify someone was in there. He tugged at the door handle to see if it was open, but the door stayed firmly in place, locked. Mike furrowed his brow now, completely confused. He swore he saw the door close shut just a second ago, yet it was still sealed tight.

Surely this couldn't have been another hallucination? If it was, that would've meant he'd had hallucinations for three days now, and that felt too frequent even before he was on medication. He tried to think if there was any other logical explanation. The only thing he could come up with was maybe one of the androids were out and came back in, then locked the door behind them. But that idea was debunked fairly quickly when he remembered quite well that the door was designed to only lock like this from the outside. To lock it from the inside, you'd have to use a little sliding bar—similar to the kind you'd see in bathroom stalls—and he could see at the very least that the bar wasn't in place.

Mike did a sigh in frustration as he continued his halted search for the flashlight. Well, at least his psychiatrist appointment was tomorrow; he'd certainly have to bring this up with them, three days of hallucinations was no good. Finally finding the flashlight in the bottom of his bag, he pulled it out and then went through the keyring for the pizzeria's key.

Once he had the key in between his fingers, he unlocked the door and opened up. He walked in, turning the flashlight on and giving a look around the area to see if he could see anyone. Everything seemed to be in proper order; the party hats were on the table, the three main animatronics were up on the stage, the curtain to Pirate Cove was closed. It didn't seem like there was a trace of anyone around.

Mike shrugged now as his thoughts were basically confirmed; yet another damn hallucination, this was getting ridiculous. At least this one hadn't been so frightening this go around, he could handle seeing doors close. Turning himself around, he slid the bar in place to lock the door. Once that was done, he twirled the flashlight a little by the chain it had, then caught it in his hand as he headed towards the office.

His progress was stopped when he thought he heard footsteps. Freezing in place, he looked around again to make sure there indeed wasn't anyone else in here with him. After giving the place a good twice-over, he was about to continue onward when he felt something push against him; causing him to fall over on his butt, whoofing out as he did and dropping his flashlight. With a clicking sound, the light went dead and he could hear bits of the tool roll away; from the sound of it, it seemed like the top completely popped off and made the batteries come out.

"Fucking shit," Mike swore out, now completely blind in the building. He tried to feel around for the flashlight, but it did no good; it had rolled out too far from reach, and he couldn't see at all to try and locate the parts. He grunted out now, pouting as he resorted to his bag again. He fumbled around for the zipper, having troubles due to not being able to see.

He'd have to get his phone out and try to use the screen's light to locate the bits of flashlight. Either that, or try and use it as a guide to the office if it turned out it was a lot closer to twelve than he thought. Finally finding the zipper, he unzipped the bag and blindly rummaged around the clutter. He cursed at himself and how badly he kept this thing organized; of all the times to have it bite him in the butt, it had to be when his life was possibly _in danger_.

He was so lost in his thoughts of complaining at himself, he didn't hear the footsteps approach him from the right. "Havin' a bit o' trouble there, matey?"

Mike yelped out as he jumped hard, looking up towards where he heard the voice. He felt his blood freeze cold when he saw a pair of glowing yellow eyes towering over him in the darkness, staring straight at him. Oh god, was it already twelve?! Was it too damn late, did he fuck up beyond redemption now? He tried to scoot himself away from the eyes that only got closer to him, too terrified to even think of getting up.

"Hey hey, no need ta worry lad; not gonna hurt ye, it ain't twelve yet. Just saw ye had some issues an' thought I'd offer help, is all," the familiar voice spoke out, the eyes now lowering to be level with the sitting man.

"A-ah… s-sorry, just… got startled. Fuck, t-today's just not a good day for me," Mike stuttered out, shaking pretty hard as he stared at the glowing pair of eyes. He didn't like to stare into pure darkness for long, since it oddly made his eyes feel sore, so the bit of visual was a welcomed relief. "G-gotta say, didn't e-expect your eyes would glow. Caught me of guard, heh…"

Foxy chuckled lightly at the man's response, "Aye, they glow in tha dark. Helps us ta see in any light level; pretty handy lil feature, if I do say so meself. So, ye have a lil trip or somethin'?"

Mike was silent for a bit. He wasn't entirely sure what happened this time; could hallucinations even be physical like that? It really felt like something had pushed against him, and pretty damn hard at that. But if it _was_ another hallucination, he couldn't just say "Oh, something that doesn't actually exist knocked me over, I'm fine." He'd had no idea how the pirate would react, and he sorta needed the help pretty badly right now if he wanted to get to the office quick enough.

"Uh, yeah. One of my shoelaces must've come untied, and it made me slip. Dropped my flashlight as a result, now I can't see a damn thing. Uh, I'd… I'd appreciate some help, if you don't mind," Mike said a bit sheepishly, trying to look embarrassed so as to better pull off the lie. Hopefully Foxy wouldn't notice he wore slip-on shoes.

"O' course, that's no trouble at all. Give me a second, I'll gather up what I see," the pirate replied, the eyes now raising up from the position close to the man and disappearing into the darkness.

Mike could hear the shuffling of feet as he stared off into the blackness, following the noise as best as he could. The sounds were fairly close, but were definitely a fair bit distance away from the position he sat in; no doubt he wouldn't have been able to locate the pieces by himself.

After a few seconds, he saw the eyes reappear in the dark and approach him, then squat down again. "Alright, I think I got it all; got all I could see anyway. I'd put it together fer ye, but honestly I dunno tha least bit how ta put one o' these back in order. An' I'm a bit 'fraid it'd take me too long ta learn how. Hold out yer hand."

Mike nodded, holding out his left hand in an open position. Once he did so, he could feel the bits of flashlight go in his hand. He closed his hand tightly around the pieces, hoping to not drop any. "T-thanks," was all Mike said.

"Not a problem. Now, if yer willin' ta give me yer other hand, I can lead ye ta tha office. Ye can mess with that little doohickey once yer there, when ye can actually see 'gain."

"Ah, alright, sure," Mike replied as he held out his other hand now. After a moment, he could feel the pirate's own hand close in around his. It was surprisingly warm for an android, Mike couldn't help but notice; he would've thought the man would be cold to the touch, but he felt just as warm as a person would. Certainly was a different feeling from the hand he held yesterday, that felt so dead and frigid.

Mike watched as the eyes raised up again, feeling a light tugging as the man stood up. He tried to push himself up with his closed hand while Foxy gently pulled on him to hoist him back in position. It took a bit of effort, but eventually Mike managed to get himself off the ground. His legs still felt a bit airy, unfortunately enough, but luckily there wasn't much pain from the sudden fall.

"I'll try ta go slow enough so ye don't just stumble 'gain, but still gonna be a bit o' a rush; gettin' pretty close ta showtime, after all. Try ta keep up, alright?"

"Don't really have much choice, do I?"

"Nay, ye don't," the pirate replied as he guided the man in the darkness now. It was a good thing he decided to be helpful this go around; he probably would have died just stumbling around, trying to find a wall.

It took a few moments of walking, and a couple of accidental bumps and apologies when Mike would go a bit too fast for the android's pace, but eventually they made it to the office. Foxy used his hook to flip on the light switch fixated on the wall, giving sudden light to the once impenetrable darkness. Mike flinched lightly at the unexpected brightness, but recovered quick enough once his eyes adjusted.

"There we go then," Foxy said as he let go of the man's hand now.

Mike felt a bit sad at the sudden coldness his hand now felt. He couldn't help but admit that the warmth of the android was a pleasant change from the bitterly cold air, especially since the place didn't have heating during the night. But he tried best not to show it, moving his hand underneath his other as he transferred the pieces over; his hand had gotten a bit irritated from the parts digging in, so it was time to give it some relief.

"Uh, th-thanks again man. Wasn't expecting to just fall like that, and _really _wasn't expecting this dinky thing to break like it did. Hopefully the bulb isn't broken, can't exactly replace that part easily," Mike thanked the man, walking more into the room and sitting himself down in the chair.

Foxy gave a light smile and nodded, "Like I said, no trouble at all. Would've been cold o' me ta just stand an' watch, after all. Now, don't mean ta be rude, but probably should be gettin' back ta tha cove 'bout now. Freddy would throw an absolute fit if I wasn't in proper position when tha game starts."

"Oh, yeah, sure. I… guess I'll see you later? Unless this somehow makes your visit void now or something," Mike said as he alternated the pieces in between his hands now, staring up at the pirate.

"Nay, it shouldn't. Doesn't count as a visit since it's not durin' tha game's run time. I'll probably come 'round fairly early, give ye a bit o' time ta prepare fer Freddy, so look forward ta that," Foxy said, his smile turning gentle as he backed out to the door frame.

"Alright then, I will. Try to keep good on your word, captain," Mike smiled back, setting the pieces on the desk now as he grew tired of dealing with them.

"Cap'n Foxy always keeps good on his word, matey! No worries 'bout that! Remember, check Pirate Cove!" Foxy gave a two-fingered salute as he side-stepped down the hallway, disappearing in a matter of moments.

Mike gave out a light chuckle, before turning his attention to the flashlight again. It indeed was what he thought had happened; the cap had popped out and caused the batteries to spew out. He picked up the bulb section to examine it, making sure the bulb didn't burst in the fall. It didn't appear so, which gave Mike some relief; he had no idea if he'd be able to find a replacement for it so easily, and it was hard to come across small flashlights like this just casually shopping.

He sat down the part as he picked up the main body of the flashlight. Looking into it to make sure nothing had come loose, he picked up one of the cell batteries and dropped it down the tube. He did that two more times, and needed to do it one more time as the flashlight took four of them. He felt around the desk, not looking up from the flashlight for the last battery, but wasn't able to feel it.

Looking up now, he frowned deeply when he noticed the battery wasn't present on the desk. He looked down around the floor to make sure he hadn't knocked it over, then looked under the desk in case it rolled under. He had no such luck locating the battery, which caused him to let out a sigh. Well that's just great, he thought.

Mike took the lid of the flashlight and screwed it back in place. Even if it was missing a battery, he would at least make sure the thing was in one piece. Didn't want to just leave it open and have the batteries be lost in the vacuum that was his bag. Once the top was back on, Mike pressed the button in a vain attempt to see if the light would come on. It was a no go, the bulb remained off as was expected.

The phone started to ring once Mike was finished with his little repair job. Taking a quick look at the clock, the hands said it was midnight on the dot. Mike placed the flashlight in one of the small pockets and zipped it back up. Once he was finished with that, he picked up the phone and put it to his ear, "Hello?"

"Hello, hello? Hey! Hey, wow, day 4. I knew you could do it," the voice of the phone guy sounded rushed this time, not really giving any pauses this go around.

"Uh, hey, listen, I may not be around to send you another message tomorrow," a banging noise was heard in the background, sounding a lot like the noise Mike heard yesterday when he was nearly caught by Foxy. "It's-It's been a bad night here for me. Um, I-I'm kinda glad that I recorded my messages for you… ahem, uh, when I did."

The banging only got louder and more frequent as the message continued, causing Mike to feel stressed. "Uh, hey, do me a favor. Maybe sometime, uh, you could check inside those suits in the back room? I'm gonna try to hold out until someone checks. Maybe it won't be so bad," the pounding got overpowering at this point, making it hard to hear out the rest of what the guy was saying.

"Uh, I-I-I-I always wondered what was in all those empty heads back there. You know…" at this point, music began to play in the background, sounding out to something Mike found familiar, but wasn't entirely sure the name of it off the top of his head. It sounded like some sort of classical song he'd probably heard during elementary school music class, but played out in a music box tone. A low, gasping noise sounded on the phone, causing a shiver to run down Mike's spine at how breathy it was.

"Oh, no-" was the last thing Mike heard before a deafening sound played through the phone, causing Mike to pull the phone away from his ear and flinch. The noise was so loud he could still hear it with relative clarity, sounding like a low-pitched shriek before it turned to static, then turned to the dial tone.

Mike simply stared at the phone now, a deep frown etched into his face. So, the guy didn't make it? Mike had thought they would've, given the fact they seemed to have known what they were doing. Granted, it also seemed like the guy didn't realize the animatronics were a lot more than what first looks gave them, but they at least appeared to have figured out how they worked without the bit of guidance from Foxy.

Mike hung the phone up, a deep feeling of dread washing over him. "_Rest in peace, phone guy, whoever you may have been_," was his only thought.

—

Mike pressed the door button on Chica as she appeared into view. This was the third time she'd appeared tonight, and it wasn't even 2 yet. Bonnie also had appeared multiple times, but always would seem to leave just as soon as he closed the door on them. The two of them certainly were the most active they've been all week, but as a result neither would stick around for very long.

In fact, after Mike looked at the left side to make sure Bonnie wasn't around, looking back over to the right showed that Chica had already left; didn't even stay around for ten seconds. A quick look at the cameras revealed she was back in the first section of the east hallway, standing around as were per usual. Mike switched the cameras over to the west side to try and locate Bonnie.

After a few flips through the cameras, Mike eventually found Bonnie standing in the backroom, adjusting the positions of a couple of the heads on the shelves. Mike couldn't help but remember what the phone guy said as he watched the parts be moved around. "_Uh, hey, do me a favor. Maybe sometime, uh, you could check inside those suits in the backroom? I'm gonna try to hold out until someone checks. Maybe it won't be so bad_."

Mike wondered if they possibly were still in there, battered and bloodied. He had no idea how long ago that message was recorded; it could've been days, it could've been weeks. If they _did_ survive, Mike hadn't the foggiest idea on what their condition would have been. It wouldn't be pretty, that's all he knew. Mike examined the parts in the room to see if he could notice anything off about them; blood, a lump of sorts, anything that could hint to him that the guy was in there. The camera quality was simply too poor to tell, and Bonnie messing around with the heads certainly made it more difficult to examine them.

Mike jumped a little and lightly gasped when he felt something touch against his shoulder. Looking up, he quickly discovered it was the android again; trying to get his attention. Foxy moved his hand away once the man realized he was in the room now. "Sorry 'bout that; said hello a couple o' times but none o' 'em got yer attention. Didn't mean ta startle ye."

Mike shook his head as he pressed the tablet's button to power it down. "No no, it's my fault. Got a bit too distracted watching Bonnie mess about, needed a little fright to bring me back to my surroundings." Once the tablet was shut off, Mike put it back to the desk, pushing it to a good enough position so it wouldn't just fall off.

"They're in tha backroom, right? Bonnie loves ta mess around with tha spares; sorta has fun puttin' 'em together then takin' 'em 'part, or mismatchin' tha pieces ta make somethin' all awkward. It's one way ta keep entertained, I suppose," Foxy leaned himself against the desk as he crossed his legs, tapping his foot in a steady rhythm.

"Ah, yeah, they're back there. Sorta was just shocked to see them doing something other than stand around, heh…" Mike couldn't help but have his eyes wander off to the tablet, still wondering at the idea of the guy being in one of those suits.

"Aye, believe it or not, we do like ta do other things than just terrorize ye. Try not ta let it distract ye too much though, 'specially since it's startin' ta get ta tha part o' tha week where stuff gets intense," Foxy positioned his arms to be behind him as he relaxed himself. "So, does yer thing still work?"

"Eh, I don't know. One of the batteries is still missing, so I can't really check to see if it does or not. It seems like everything's still in order though, and the bulb looks alright, so hopefully once I get a battery again the thing will work good as new."

Foxy scrunched up his face slightly, looking a bit disappointed in himself. "So I did miss a piece, eh? If ye want, I can go back an' see if I can find it. Might take a bit o' time though, 'specially if it went off pretty far, so ye'd have ta be in guard mode fer a while."

Mike hummed softly, before responding, "Actually… you said it's safe to go out as long as I'm with you, right?"

"Aye, durin' me visits yer completely safe. Just have ta be 'round me so tha others realize it. Ye want ta come along this time?" Foxy raised his eyebrows.

"Ah, sure, if you don't mind. I… sorta want to check something out in the backroom, if it's alright. Just curious about something there," Mike fidgeted a little in his seat, anticipating the pirate's answer.

Foxy smiled gently as he nodded, "Sure, sounds like a plan. If Bonnie's still there, I'll stick 'round til yer done; I don't expect they'll do anythin' once they first see me, but I'll stay 'round fer tha reassurance. Then when yer done, we can go lookin' fer yer battery together."

Mike's eyebrows furrowed a little in a confused look at that statement. He had expected that maybe Foxy would look for the battery first, and when he located it he would use his flashlight to look around. "Erm, I can't really see without my flashlight. Can't exactly help you look for it."

Foxy chuckled lightly at the man's response. "Well o' course I know ye can't see in tha dark. But tha buildin' still has power, so we can just flip tha switch ta turn on tha lights. It shouldn't take that much power, but just in case I'll turn off tha lights in here while we're gone. Save some usage at tha least."

Mike's face relaxed into a more natural position at the statement, "Oh, it does? For some reason I thought only the office area had power at night… Just felt more like these guys would limit it to one place, since they're so stingy with power in the first place."

"Aye, tha whole buildin's still powered. Have ta keep at least tha kitchen runnin'; can't have tha ingredients just spoil overnight, can we? Plus there has ta be some way o' powerin' tha cameras, right?" Foxy stood himself up as he offered his hand, "Well, ye ready?"

Mike looked at the pirate's hand, before asking, "So, you're gonna lead me again?"

"That's tha plan matey. Bit too much effert ta constantly run back an' forth turnin' lights on an' off, an' that'd be a fair waste o' power. I'll turn on tha lights when we're settled in a room, alright?"

"Ah, sure. Sounds good, I guess," Mike took the pirate's hand again as he hoisted himself out of the chair. "Sorry ahead of time if I bump into you again; I'll try to not rush myself this go around."

"No worries lad, I can handle a lil bump. Just try not ta trip o'er me an' we'll be fine!" Foxy let out a chuckle as he used his hook to press the off button on the fan, then lead Mike over to the left doorway. "'bout ta go real dark here, brace yerself."

Mike nodded as Foxy flipped the switch off, immediately getting swallowed up by darkness. He felt himself go stiff as his legs felt like giving out from under him, being reminded of the dream he had just this evening. He didn't even move at first when Foxy began to walk, which caused him to get jerked forward lightly, nearly falling over again right there.

"Eh? Everythin' alright Mike?" Foxy questioned, his eyes appearing once again as he turned himself around.

Mike went blank for a few moments, before he shook his head and brought himself back to reality; staring at the eyes to make the darkness feel less suffocating. "Oh, uh, yeah. I just… got disorientated. Couldn't see anything so my brain sorta shut down everything, ehe…" He walked himself forward to be closer to the android. "I'm sorta bad with darkness like that; if I don't have at least a laser pointer or something to stand out of the blackness, my head feels like it wants to cave in on itself. Ah, I'm sorry if I hinder the progress with that…"

Foxy hummed at that, going quiet for a bit. After a few moments, a little light bulb turned on in his head, "Ye can see me eyes, right? Do they help ye any?"

"Uh, yeah. Actually a lot, they sorta feel like they're guiding me, in fact. Like a will-o'-wisp or something," Mike commented, his stare unwavering to the two glowing eyes.

"Ah, then we got a bit o' an idea then. Hold out yer other hand, I'm gonna switch out so I can reposition meself some more."

"O-Okay?" Mike said as he raised up his other hand. For a second, Mike could feel the pirate's hold on his hand disappear, before it transferred itself to the second hand. The android turned himself around to completely face Mike now, staring into his eyes.

"Alright, gonna try an' walk backwards; that way ye can still have some sort o' visual ta help ye out. I pretty much know this place backwards an' forwards, so I shouldn't run inta any issues. Ready ta go?"

"Ah, yeah. T-thanks for doing this, really wasn't expecting that. But it really does help my head feel a bit more grounded," Mike said, lightly squeezing the pirate's hand in response.

Mike couldn't see it, but a rather large smile now adorned the android's face. "No trouble at all, no trouble at all," Foxy began to move as he guided Mike in more ways than one now.

The pace was slow and steady, so as to not cause any tumbling. Foxy's eyes would occasionally look away to the sides, but seemed to keep a steady hold on Mike when he could. His eyes were rather comforting, Mike couldn't help but think. The soft glow and vibrant yellow created a soothing effect, like two giant stars within a void. It was mesmerizing, he simply couldn't look away from them.

And the fact Foxy's stare seemed to constantly be on him gave him a warm feeling somehow; like he felt important. It was probably very silly to feel like he did, but the way the android's eyes locked with his made a bubbly feeling blossom in his chest. Mike didn't realize his face had contorted itself with a gentle smile, as he saw how soft of a gaze the artificial eyes held; fueling the pleasant feeling that seemed to spread all over his body. It was a nice change of pace from the usual worry and hesitance he felt towards people.

Foxy turned his head away for a moment to make sure nothing was behind him, and to see how much farther the backroom was from their position. They had just entered the dining area, nearly walking into one of the tables. Foxy steered clear out of the way, and approached the wall to the left side. Putting his hook against the wall, he turned his attention back to Mike once he was settled in. "We're gettin' close now, just a few more feet. Gonna use me hook ta navigate a bit, so yer gonna hear some scrapping."

Mike nodded as they continued their trek. Sure enough, a grinding noise came to end the silence that was once present throughout the building; echoing out throughout the room. Foxy kept his hook to the wall, until he felt it jump a little as it moved from the wall to a door. Foxy looked away again to confirm they were indeed there, seeing the door labeled "Employees Only" to his right. "Well, we made it," Foxy announced, as he knocked on the door with his hook. "Bonnie mate, ye in there still?"

"Hmm? Oh, uh, yeah, I'm in here," a tinny voice called out from the room. It was about the same quality of sound that Foxy had when he was in the suit, but had a bit less static going for it.

"Got a visitor with me this go 'round, we're comin' in!" Foxy said as he pushed the door open more with his shoulder. The door made a very awkward creaking noise, like the hinges really need oiling. It made Mike flinch slightly, covering one of his ears with his free hand.

In a split second, the room was suddenly filled with light; showcasing the entirety of the room now. Mike squinted his eyes in response. "An' let there be light, haha!" Foxy called out, as he let go of the man's hand.

"Woah, you actually managed to convince someone to go out? Talk about a first," Mike looked over to where the voice came from, and was greeted immediately by the sight of the giant rabbit animatronic on the other side of the room. They were turning themself around from whatever they were working on, and now stared at the man with those lifeless eyes. Mike could feel his heart pound in a panicked response, walking behind Foxy like a shy child meeting a stranger.

Foxy looked over his shoulder at the nervous man, then let out a light chuckle. "It's alright lad, Bonnie ain't gonna hurt ye. Yer with me, after all. 'sides, I dare say Bonnie's tha friendliest out o' us all; you'll probably get along pretty well with 'em!" Foxy beamed a smile in reassurance to Mike, patting him on the head with his hand.

Mike couldn't help but whine out still as he looked at the rabbit. Ronnie wasn't kidding when he said Bonnie was the most frightening of the bunch; there was just something about their eyes that was completely unsettling. Mike felt himself shrink in when the rabbit began to approach him.

"Eh, I don't blame him. We haven't had the chance for introductions like you two had, so I don't doubt that I'd still feel like a threat," Bonnie squatted down to be at eye level with the man. If they could, they would have given Mike a smile to show they were friendly, but the suit simply wasn't capable of facial expressions like that. "Anyway, nice to meet ya in a more positive sense! You're Mike, right?"

"A-Ah, y-y-yeah," Mike responded shakily, trying to hide his face more and not look at the animatronic's eyes.

Foxy hummed out a little in contemplation, before coming up with a possible solution, "Bonnie, lax, ye think ye can get out o' tha suit? Pretty sure that's what's makin' tha lad nervous, he was pretty much tha same way with me an' me suit."

"Oh, sure, that's no problem! Was gonna take it off soon anyway, I hate wearing this thing when I don't have to. Way too cramped, bleh," Bonnie stood themself back up. "Uh, if ya don't mind; sorta need some room to get out. Bit too stuffy in here to take it off."

"Aye, o' course," Foxy said as he walked out of the way. Mike followed in pursuit, staying behind the pirate as he watched the rabbit walk out of the room. Mike let out the breath he was holding once the animatronic disappeared from view.

"U-Uh, I'm… sorry for acting like a frightened child. I just… those suits are so _creepy_, and being so close to them is just… just really makes me nope hard," Mike stuttered out, look a fair bit embarrassed with his reaction.

Foxy let out another light chuckle as he gave the man a smile, "It's no problem, yer not tha first person ta find our suits creepy. Somethin' 'bout 'em just doesn't settle well with adults, though tha kiddies still love 'em. Well… most o' tha time, anyway. Bonnie always seemed ta creep people out tha most, too. Never got why, they're rather plain if ye ask me."

Mike nodded in agreement with that statement, "Yeah, my brother can't stand Bonnie, and I have to admit being so close to them was just… eugh. Ah, sorta off-topic now, but just a little curious about something you said; is it alright to ask?"

"O' course! Ye don't have ta ask every time, ye know? I quite like answerin' questions!" Foxy walked some more in the room to lean himself on the table that stood in the middle.

Mike followed suit, standing next to the pirate. "Ah, I just wanted to make sure I didn't mishear or something; it's really nothing important, but I always get a nagging feeling in my head when I'm not sure about something. Did you call Bonnie something different? Ya know, like, how you call me lad? It sorta sounded like ya said 'lax' or something, I dunno."

Foxy smiled earnestly at the question, "Aye, I called 'em lax! They don't like bein' called lad or lass, so I alternate an' call 'em somethin' else! Just somethin' ta make 'em more comfy, only took me 'bout a second ta come up with it."

Mike hummed in understanding, satisfied now that he knew he hadn't misheard. "Ah, so they're non-binary? Sorta gathered when you kept using 'they' to refer to them, but wasn't too sure if you were or if it was just your accent making it sound like it."

Foxy frowned a little as his face went to a confused state, "Erm… not sure I know what that means, ta be honest. Can ye explain it?"

"Oh, right. It's a term you don't really hear much in life, so it's not surprising you don't know it; I only found out about it recently myself, and that was cause of the internet. Um, well, non-binary is when you don't identify yourself as a man or woman; you feel like something different. Some people feel like they're a combination of genders, some feel like a non-specified gender, and some feel like they don't have a gender at all. It's a really wide spectrum, I think it keeps expanding with new terms all the time."

Foxy hummed now, his face lightening up at the explanation, "Oh, that sounds like Bonnie alright. Bonnie was designed ta be male in mind, but always felt like they shouldn't call 'emself a man since they aren't human; human-like, sure, but still not exactly human. I don't mind sayin' I'm a man meself, an' tha others are tha same as me, but Bonnie was always different like that. Interestin' ta know there's a word fer it!"

Mike smiled, he always did feel pretty awesome when he told facts that people didn't know before. "Yeah, learned about it thanks to my brother. He told me a little on it, so I decided to look it up and welp. It.. it sorta feels like me a bit, to be honest. Like, I still feel alright if ya call me a dude and stuff, but I don't exactly feel a hundred percent man, ya know? I don't exactly feel like a woman though, and I wouldn't say I feel like nothing either; but I do feel like I'm _something_ different at least. I think the term for what I felt like was Demiboy or something, can't remember exactly."

Foxy smiled gently as the lad explained, "Well, seems like yer unique in more ways than one, eh? Should I call ye somethin' different from lad, as well?"

Mike shook his head, "Oh, no no, I don't mind being called lad; like I said, I still feel like a man, I just don't feel _entirely_ like a man. Plus I… wouldn't really know of anything else to call me. I know there's, like, different pronouns and stuff, and honestly some of them are pretty cool. But I'm a bit hesitant on trying them out cause holy _shit_, a lot of people give you shit over it."

Foxy nodded as he tapped his fingers to the table, "Alright then, I'll keep callin' ye lad then. If ye ever feel like ye want me ta call ye somethin' else though, don't be hesitant ta tell me though! Whatever helps ye feel comfortable with me, I'll do it!"

Mike felt a little shock at just how accepting the pirate was about that. Before him, pretty much every stranger who learned that about him called him an attention seeker, a "special snowflake," and would never take him seriously. He remembered quite well how many anonymous messages he received the day he posted about his feelings about his gender, how completely discouraging it was.

In fact, most of his side of the family wouldn't even acknowledge it a lot of the time; his dad was the only one of the bunch that didn't completely disregard it. Even his own mother thought it was outrageous. "How could you not feel completely like a man? God made you a man, through and through!" she would say. It was one of the reason he never really visited them outside of alternating family visits for the holidays, and even then it usually was uncomfortable visits. He still loved his family though, so he would try to make the best of what he could.

Besides, he was grateful that at least one side of the family was supportive of him. Ronnie's family was absolutely fantastic, often giving encouragement to explore more with pronouns and identities. It shouldn't have been shocking, given that they were fully behind Ronnie during his own transition; but it still was a pleasant surprise to hear some support when it felt like everyone else was against him.

Mike and Foxy heard the creaking of the door again, causing them to look over at the entrance. A person now stood in the way, stretching their back and groaning out a little. They looked just like one of the people Mike saw the other day on the cameras.

"Augh, there we go then. Holy crap, took a bit to get out this go around; guess I need to tell Jennifer I'm in need of a bit of refining," Bonnie said, walking into the room fully and going in front of Mike. They were about the same height as him, probably only being a few centimeters taller if Mike had to guess. "This better dude?"

Mike nodded, he was a bit out of it since it was pretty hard to grasp still that all of the animatronics were actually humanesque robots. Even with Bonnie standing right in front of him, it felt so completely strange; were they really just a rabbit a moment ago?

"Ahoy Bonnie! Mikey here just told me a term that sounds like ye! Says it was called 'non-binary,' I believe; means ye don't think yer a man nor woman!" Foxy exclaimed, smiling brightly at his friend.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I knew about that," Bonnie said, rather nonchalantly.

"Eh? How'd ye know?" Foxy now looked confused again, especially since Mike had told him it wasn't very commonly known.

"Believe it or not, I actually try to use that hunk of junk we call a computer. Googled 'not man or woman' and got a result saying something about a third gender. Did some looking around with the links after that and eventually found out I'm Agender! Took probably half an hour though, and that was on one of the _good_ days, eugh."

"Oh? Why didn't ye tell us 'bout it then? Seemed like somethin' pretty important."

"I _did_ tell you guys though, that's the thing. Or well, I told Freddy and Chica, and I _thought _I told you as well. But… thinking about it now, I think you were really busy that day, so if I tried to tell you I think you didn't really pay much attention. Eh, sorry 'bout that then," Bonnie shrugged, tapping their foot against their leg.

Foxy followed suit in shrugging, chuckling out a little, "Ah well, I know 'bout it now, at least! Learn somethin' new everyday," Foxy looked back over at Mike once he finished his brief talk with Bonnie. "So, what were ye wantin' ta look fer in here? Perhaps Bonnie an' I could be o' some help!"

Mike seemed a bit lost in his own thoughts, looking over the other android that stood in front of him. Now that he could properly view them outside of the grainy camera feed, he had to admit that Bonnie had a rather cute appearance going for them. A round face with soft features, wonderfully curly hair, brilliant eyes that shined with life; they had the kind of look going for them that you couldn't help but go "aw" over.

Foxy frowned a little, looking at how Mike seemed to be enamored by the former rabbit to not even pay attention to him. He couldn't help but feel a rather negative feeling form in the pit of his stomach section, one that he would describe best as a combination of disappointment and… well, he wasn't quite sure. It wasn't a feeling he particularly recognized, something he didn't really feel all that much to even notice it before. But it was something, something that made him want to reclaim Mike's attention in whatever way he could.

Bonnie noticed the rather sad look that now adorned Foxy's face, then looked over at the human whose stare was absolutely fixed on them. Clearing their throat, they spoke up, "Um, Mike, I do believe Foxy's talking to ya."

Mike noticed the android's lips move, but still was too deep in his examination to really hear them out. He blinked a little, then brought his attention back to his surroundings. "Oh, what? Sorry, sorta zoned out a sec."

"Foxy asked ya something. Something about wanting to look around the room?" Bonnie replied, looking back over to the pirate.

Mike's brain jumped back to action as he remembered the reason why he even wanted to came back here in the first place; to see if the phone guy had survived and was still stuffed in a suit. "Oh, uh, yeah. I just… wanted to look around a little. Nothing major really, just me being bored on the job," Mike said, getting himself off the table as he walked over to the area of the room that housed the suits. He didn't really think it was a good idea to mention he was looking for a possible corpse.

Foxy felt the negative feeling only grow more intense as he watched Mike walk over to the other side of the room. Something about how Mike responded to Bonnie and not him made his stomach absolutely sour, and he had no idea why. He wondered if it was a sign that something was going wrong in his system, and if it did he hoped it wasn't anything too severe. At least it was Friday tomorrow, he could ask Jennifer about it then.

Mike looked into the suits one by one, seeing if he could find any trace of the phone guy. He knew that if he hoped to find even just a finger of the dude, he'd have to look for the most miniscule amount of blood. After giving each suit a good once over, and double-checking a couple that seemed a bit off, Mike sighed out as his search ultimately proved to be fruitless.

Not paying any attention to his surroundings, when he turned around he ended up running smack dab into one of the standing endoskeletons; causing it to fall over on top of another one and cause a domino reaction of skeletons falling down. Mike flinched as he watched the structures collapse on themselves, gritting his teeth tightly in response. Eventually the clamor died down as the final skeleton came tumbling down, crashing down in a spectacular mess.

"Shit, ah, sorry!" Mike swore out, squatting down as he tried to hoist up at least one of the skeletons back in place. However, the metal was surprisingly heavy, and Mike had trouble getting it even a few inches off the ground. He tried to adjust his position to see if that would help any, but pretty much every way he went was met with the same results; barely any progress and Mike slipping on himself.

Mike grunted out as he kept pushing up. Suddenly the load was lifted off of his arms, and the skeleton went up in one quick motion. Mike saw the pirate now stood over him, lifting up the structure with his one hand. Mike's mouth was slightly agape at how effortlessly the android made the action look.

"Have a bit o' an accident, eh?" Foxy spoke out, bending over as he lifted up another skeleton and stood it back up. He adjusted the position so that it wouldn't just fall down again as soon as he let go.

"H-How did you do that?! Those things are like, ridiculously heavy, and I swear I'm not a weak guy!" Mike said rather incredulously, watching the android repeat the action and seeing in the corner of his eye that Bonnie was doing much of the same.

Foxy chuckled out, squatting himself down now to be level with the kneeling man. "Well, we're designed ta be pretty strong; have ta be ta move 'round in tha suits like we do. Pickin' up one o' these is just like pickin' up a knocked o'er hat rack; no trouble at all."

Mike's eyes shined in renewed excitement; did the android really have super strength? It seemed like every day he was learning something new about how the android worked, and every new bit of information he learned lighted a passionate flame within him. He couldn't help but feel giddy like a child, even if it was something as clichéd as that. "W-Woah. How strong are you?"

Foxy let out a smile as he offered his hand to the man, "Want ta see fer yerself? Promise I won't drop ye."

Mike didn't even give time to think as he took the android's hand. The two stood themselves up, then Foxy lead Mike away from endoskeletons so as to not cause another accident. "Alright, brace yerself, yer 'bout ta go sky high," Foxy said once they were a fair enough distance.

Foxy lowered himself again, putting his left hand underneath Mike's legs and his hook to his back. With a single grunt, Foxy hoisted the man up, keeping his grip steady so as to not accidentally drop him. He kept raising the man higher and higher until he was literally holding him above his head, and Mike could practically touch the ceiling now.

"AAH HOLY SHIT WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Mike shrieked out, absolutely terrified of the position he was in. When the pirate said he would lift him, he thought it would be at most him holding him up on his shoulders. What he didn't expect was to be held like Link holding a damn Triforce piece.

Foxy let out a laugh as he spun around once, then lowered the man back down to hold him bridal style. "Well, had ta prove ta ye how strong I am, no? What better way than that?"

"W-What better way that _that_?! Dude, if you dropped me that shit could've easily broken my back!" Mike lightly punched at the pirate's chest, not really wanting to hurt the android but also not exactly letting him off scot-free.

"Ah, but I didn't now, did I? Cap'n Foxy said he wouldn't drop ye, an' by god he always keeps good on his word!" Foxy beamed at the man, hugging him a little tighter to him to further emphasis his words.

Mike let out a pout, then felt a smile form on his own lips as he let out a light giggled. Well, he couldn't help but admit that he found that pretty exciting, once he got past the initial fear over it. He pushed at the man's chest in a playful manner, "Okay then, guess that was one way to show you weren't joking about. Certainly wasn't expecting you to just hold me up so easily, thought you'd at least struggle a little. Though… I'm a bit glad you didn't; if you did I probably would have been a _lot_ more hesitant on your words."

Foxy sat the man back down on his feet, helping him straighten himself once he was firmly planted on solid ground again. Mike stretched his legs out to get them accustomed to not being held like that, going on his tip of his toes for a moment.

"You two having fun?" Bonnie called out, fixing the last endoskeleton back in place.

Mike suddenly realized they had left Bonnie on their own to clean up the mess, and Mike could feel an embarrassed blush form on his cheeks. "Oh, uh… sorry we sorta ditched you, ah…"

Bonnie smiled and shook their head, walking back over to the two. "Nah, it's fine. I know Foxy loves to be a show-off whenever he can be, so it was to be expected. Besides, not like it's a hard job anyway," Bonnie turned their full attention to Mike again. "So, satisfied with what you saw?"

Mike frowned a little, not entirely sure about the answer, "Uh… well, in one way, yeah, I am. But in another I'm sorta not. Uh… Could I-" Mike was about to utter the question again, then remembered what Foxy said and stopped himself. He had to resist the urge to constantly ask that, if he hoped not to annoy the android. "Uh, did you guys know the former security guard?"

Both of their looks went to a more neutral position, then they both shook their heads. "No I did-" "Can't say I-" both of them had started, then stopped as they realized they were talking over one another. Bonnie gestured to Foxy to go on first.

Foxy cleared his throat, continuing on. "Sorry 'bout that. Anyway, can't say I did. They didn't pull a whoops like ye did on yer first night, so I didn't do me visits with 'em. All I knew 'bout 'em was that they were possibly a lad."

"Yeah, honestly you're the first guard I've actually had any sort of interaction with. Only thing I knew about them is that they were probably the longest lasting guard we had; nearly made it out alive, but…" Bonnie trailed off.

"… But their last day was on a Sunday. As a result, Freddy assigned us all 20s, ta make sure they were as good as dead. Remember it quite well, it's so far been tha only time Freddy's ever went that drastic," Foxy's look became fairly solemn at that, recalling how the guard was pleading for their life before it eventually all went quiet. He was thankful it wasn't him who did the "honors" that go around; no amount of mental preparation was ever enough to make him not feel regret for the actions. "Why'd ye want ta know 'bout 'em lad?"

Mike sighed, shaking his own head and looking down, "Ah, I just… Dude pre-recorded some messages for me, and at first I thought that meant they made it out alive. But then I got today's message, and I… I think I basically heard them die. Or at least, one of you got them and made a really bad noise as a result. I was… I was hoping they had made it; give me a bit of hope that I could maybe make it if someone else did," Mike looked back, his attention to the pirate now. "Has… has _anyone_ made it out alive?" Mike said in a weak voice.

Foxy and Bonnie both looked at each other, a concerned look plastered on their faces. Foxy motioned for Bonnie to go first this time.

"Weeell… Technically, there _have_ been some people who've made it out alive. But those people… those people were ones that worked for us before Freddy decided to do his game, so it's not like their lives were actually in danger. Going by guards that's been with us since the game started though… no. No, there hasn't been any survivors," Bonnie tried to dance around the question at first, but ultimately decided it was best to tell Mike point blank.

Mike's frown intensified greatly, a completely sad look encompassing his eyes. He could practically feel himself wanting to tear up at the sheer hopelessness he felt; if no one before him's made it out before, what were the chances that he was going to? He was just some damn loser, someone who could hardly keep a job longer than a week; the fact he even survived this long seemed like a complete miracle.

Foxy couldn't help but share in the sadness, watching how the man went from awestruck to completely defeated looking in a matter of minutes. He placed his hand on the man's shoulder, giving him a gentle look. "Hey matey, come on now. Just cause tha others weren't so lucky doesn't mean yer fate's sealed. Yer a pretty attentive lad, other than tha first day an' yer runnin' late mess yesterday, ye've done a damn good job at keepin' me at bay; an' like I said, I'm tha one with tha most kills."

He rubbed Mike's shoulder in a gentle manner, giving it a light squeeze, "'sides, I gotta say ye've got some great luck on yer side. Tha two times ye did mess up, ye recovered without a hitch, right? Still alive ta tell tha tale, that's far more than anyone else could've said. Ye've got fast reflexes, a keen eye… I wouldn't be surprised at all if ye ended up bein' tha first ta get out o' here. Not one bit, in fact I'm looking forward ta hailin' ye goodbye yer final night! But in order ta do that, ye gotta keep a strong spirit, gotta keep yerself determined fer success."

Mike rubbed at his watery eyes, still feeling a sense of dread despite the pirate's words. "B-But… what are even the chances I'd be someone to do something that before has been impossible? No success rate, no survivors…"

Foxy put his hook on the man's other shoulder now, staring straight at him with as soft of a look he could manage. "Lad, if ye really want ta know, most people died their second night. Ye've literally doubled tha average, ye've gone up an' beyond! I can see good things comin' yer way, I can see ye walkin' out that door every day fer as long as yer here! 'sides, Cap'n Foxy's helped ye out a lil, hasn't he? Told ye what ye had to do, what ta prepare fer, who ta give tha most attention ta… An' no doubt yer a clever lad, yer gonna put that knowledge ta good use!"

The pirate smiled sincerely at the man, showing him his full courage in his accomplishment. "But, o' course, ye'll never know if ye just give up hope now, would ye? Can't just call it quits here! Not since ye've gotten so far already! Ye've still got a long way ta go, but I'll be cheerin' fer ye every bit o' tha way!"

Mike could feel a warmth blossom in his chest again from the pure sincerity the android seemed to express. His mouth curved up into a shaky smile, and he could feel a tear run down his cheek. "Y-Yeah, I gotta… go on strong, eh? T-Take no shit, power through it all… I can't just… I can't die yet, I've got so much to live for. I… I won't die here, I'll… I'll make damn sure of that. T-Thanks, captain, I… I sorta needed the en-encouragement, heh…" He wiped his cheek with his other arm, sniffing as he did so.

Foxy only continued with his compassionate look, moving his hand from the man's shoulders to his upper arm and rubbing it gently. "O' course. We all need a bit o' encouragement now an' then. Ye… ye feelin' any better now?"

Mike chuckled out slightly, nodding his head as more tear went down his cheeks. "Y-Yeah, I just… just can't s-seem to stop crying. N-Not bad tears, mind you, they're just… I-I can't really explain it that well, I'm sorry."

Foxy gave a nod, moving his hand and hook now back to his side. "Tha good kinda tears, I get that well enough. Well, we still got a few more minutes til me visit's up; what say we go out an' try ta find that elusive battery, eh?"

Mike sniffed again, looking around the room to see if he could see a clock to confirm the time. There didn't seem to be a trace of one around the room, which caused him to feel slightly confused. "U-Uh… How do you kn-know?"

"Well, we have a sort o' built in clock in our sensors ta help us know tha time; that way we performed our shows on schedule, make sure tha place is in order before it opens an' closes, etcetera etcetera. It sorta has a bad habit o' needin' resettin' every couple o' months, but all o' ours just got reset last week when Chica's ended up bein' an hour behind; so mine should be pretty accurate. Should be… 'bout 2:39, an I came at 1:57," Foxy turned his attention away from the man to look at Bonnie again, "Lax, can ye confirm ye got tha same?"

"Oh, so now I'm here?" Bonnie let out a chuckle at how they were suddenly noticed again when it felt like they'd gone plain invisible. "Ah, yeah, I got 2:39 too. Ya need help looking for it?"

"Aye, any help would be swell. I believe it's a lil circle thingy, an' it should be near tha third an' fourth row o' tables. Keep an eye out there."

"Aye Aye captain," Bonnie said, giving a salute and starting towards the door.

"Oh! If yer goin' out now, could ye flip tha lights on in there? That way Mikey here can see."

"Oh, yeah, sure, no problem. Come on out when you're ready," Bonnie confirmed, not losing their pace a bit as they walked out the room.

Mike blinked a little as he processed what he just said. "So… you always know the time?"

"Aye, that I do. Have ta know when's a good time ta visit, don't I? Perks o' bein' a robot, eh?" Foxy had a cheeky smile, tapping his head with his hand. "2:40 now, got ta get ta it!" Foxy gestured for Mike to follow him, walking out towards the door.

Mike followed in pursuit, watching as the room beyond the doorway suddenly brighten up with light. Foxy turned off the backroom's lights as a result, and held out the door for the man. Mike walked out the room, and once he was properly out Foxy followed suit, shutting the door behind him.

"So, there any good reason you ended up staying later than expected the past few nights? Ya seemed to stress that being by the hour was pretty important, so surely you would have realized when it was starting to get time to wrap things up."

Foxy shrugged, keeping pace with the man, "Eh, no real reason. Just like talkin' an' I sorta let time slip by. Gotta try not ta push it though, else Freddy's gonna make those times 'ccumulate an' make it so I can't visit a day. Can't go havin' none o' that now."

Mike nodded as the two men joined Bonnie at the middle of the room. They looked around rather thoroughly, checking underneath all the tables and chairs, yet couldn't seem to find any trace of the little cell battery. It was almost like it had disappeared in hyperspace, much like a pen you'd accidentally drop and then can't locate.

They did a good five minutes of looking, even spreading out beyond to the second and fifth tables in case it rolled far away. But eventually they called off their search once time started to get dire, labeling the battery's position as "Fuck knows where." The men said their goodbyes to the agender android, before Foxy began to lead Mike once again to the office; walking backwards much like he did before so that Mike could have some visual stimuli within the darkness.

Once the two were returned to the office, Foxy waited for Mike to get readjusted for work before he said his own farewells; giving a hearty chuckle and reminding Mike once again to check Pirate Cove. Mike continued his night on then with renewed vigor; Freddy wouldn't have a prayer of catching him tonight.

—

"Alright Foxy, your turn now!" a lady called from within the backroom, signifying the pirate could come in. The door squeaked open as the man walked into the room, going to the middle and sitting himself atop the table.

"Ahoy Jennifer, how's yer day goin' so far?" the pirate greeted, adjusting his position to slide himself more on the table.

"Going pretty great sir! Bonnie's merging systems needed a bit of tuning up, but it was an easy enough fix once I got the levels back in sync. How about you? You said you thought you might be having some issues?" Jennifer said as she placed one of her tools back in her kit.

"Aye, not too sure cause I haven't experienced it since last night, but better safe than sorry no? I think somethin's off with me stomach, made a really awkward feelin' that I can't recall ever experiencing before," Foxy tapped at his stomach, right at the middle to show where it manifested the most.

"Hmm, can ya describe it? Like, was it painful? Uncomfortable? Just a weird feeling?"

"I… dunno really how ta explain it. It sorta was a twinge feelin', like somethin' was twistin' up that wasn't supposed ta. Didn't last too long, but it was noticeable,"

"Oh dear, might be a gear having some issues. Take off your shirt, okay?"

Foxy obliged, removing his shirt so that Jennifer could have access. Once the shirt was off and put safely to the side, Jennifer pressed in the stomach area until a click was heard, popping off the panel and revealing the machinery within. Placing it off to her side, Jennifer then took out her flashlight and shined it within the circuitry.

After a good few minutes of watching the gears turn, and examining to make sure nothing seemed to have come loose or gotten in the way of their rotating, Jennifer puffed out her cheeks a little and shrugged. "Gears look to be in fine order, so apparently it's not them. Can you tell me what happened when the feeling first started? Maybe that'll help narrow it down."

"Well… ye know me game I sometimes play with guards?" Jennifer nodded as she looked around the inner mechanisms some more, looking out to see if anything seemed out of place. "Started doin' that again with tha recent one, fella named Mike. Lovely lad, was a really pleasant surprise when he seemed eager ta cooperate. Anyway, last night him an' I went out o' tha office ta this room cause he was curious 'bout somethin', an' as a result we had a run in with Bonnie. Nothin' bad, mind ye, just a run in."

Foxy clicked his tongue, continuing on, "Well, once Bonnie got out o' their suit, Mike's attention was sorta all on 'em. Tried talkin' ta him but he didn't really seem ta acknowledge me, an' it took Bonnie speakin' up fer him ta respond. That's sorta when tha feelin' started, it was… I can't really describe it well. Part o' me was sad, but tha other part just felt… _sour_. Like I was mad at Bonnie or somethin', but absolutely nothin' had happened ta warrant such a reaction."

Jennifer paused her examination, then let out a chuckle as she shook out her head, "Foxy, that doesn't seem to be anything to do with your stomach. Sounds to me like you got a bit jealous, that's a perfectly normal emotional response," Jennifer clicked off the flashlight, returning it to her kit.

"… Jealous? But why would I be jealous? Nothin' happened, an' I swear I'm not tha jealous type!" Foxy felt a little shock at how it came to be such a simple reaction, he thought for sure it was a sign that something was failing within.

"Well, seemed like when Bonnie managed to avert all the attention away from you—something that's sorta never been done before—you couldn't help but feel envious because of it. Probably felt like your thunder was being stolen, even though nothing was actually happening."

Foxy furrowed his brow, still feeling a little confused, "But I've never really felt that way before; not from losin' me place as entertainment, not from others ignorin' me… Why'd it happen now? If it's such a normal thing, why'd it take me so long ta experience it?"

"Hmm… Can't really say why, to be honest. I thought you _had_ experienced it before, but ya just never talked about it. Like you don't always talk about when you feel sad or mad, so I thought it was just a case of you never thought it was drastic enough to bring up. Are you _absolutely_ sure this is a first for you?"

"Well… Maybe not an exact first, but it's by far tha most noticeable instance o' it. Tha only time that's really made me go 'woah, what's happenin'?'"

Jennifer popped the panel back on, patting it a little to make sure it was down all the way. "Perhaps it has to do with that Mike guy? I don't get how a random security guard you barely know would ignite such an apparently intense instance of it, but since it happened when he didn't give you attention for a second, that kinda narrows it down. What do ya think of him?"

"Oh, well like I said, I think he's a lovely lad. Somethin' about him just sorta clicks with me, I feel. Like he's a joy ta talk ta, seems really excited ta learn 'bout how I work, very open ta different things… Somethin' about it just makes me feel rather giddy when I'm 'round him. Kinda reminds me o' tha excitement I used ta feel when I performed."

"Ah, then maybe that's it! He makes you feel like your performing again, you find enjoyment with impressing him since he shows interest! Since it's been so long, you probably couldn't help but feel extremely jealous when the show was put off of you for a moment; even though you knew full and well that it was a pointless thing to get upset over."

Foxy hummed at that explanation. Well, that _would_ explain some things, but he couldn't help but feel like there was more to it; a deeper reason than simply wanting to be in the spotlight again. But he really couldn't come up with anything else that made as much sense as that; especially since he did love to impress, and the lad was no exception. He still felt like it was too hasty of a response he had—that Mike only looked away for all of a minute but to him it felt like he was out of sight and mind completely—but he guessed that jealously was just bizarre like that.

"Maybe yer right. I do like puttin' on a sort o' show fer the lad, so maybe I'm just so glad ta have that kind o' attention again. Funny how emotions seems ta make such strong emotional responses, thought fer sure my digestion system was leakin' or somethin'."

"Yup, don't know how dad managed such accurate emotional responses in you guys, but damn if he did. Emotions are a tricky mistress, sometimes you love them, sometimes you want them to just piss away. Well, anyway, you're free to go now. Nothing's wrong, ya just got confused for a while."

Foxy nodded, taking his shirt and putting it back on. "Thanks 'gain Jennifer. Dunno what I'd do without yer guidance every now an' then, probably think I was breakin' down if I so much as cried a bit too much."

Jennifer gave a laugh, shaking her own head at that. "Never understood how a robot could be such a hypochondriac. Well, whatever the case, I'll see ya next week, alright?"

"Aye aye! Be seein' ye lass!" Foxy jumped himself off the table, giving a salute as he walked out the door.


	5. Panic Attack

**Alrighty, here we go with the fifth now. Sunk about 30 hours into Alpha Sapphire, so now I'm getting a bit sick of games and just want to write some more. Took a while to think up a beginning this go, but eventually settled with something I like.**

**This is where I think stuff's going to start going super cute. Basically I've had in mind that this story was just gonna be a mush thing for me, to write feel-good stuff and cute interactions. So now hopefully I can play some more with them now that we're pretty much off of introductions.**

**Like I also said though, this is probably where chapters get much smaller, as I get to more compact ideas. But I'd still like to keep some length just cause it feels more satisfying. Also, gonna say ahead of time, I'm most likely going to be skipping days with this story; I'm not going to do a day for every day Mike's at the office, as I imagine him working longer than a week like the game made it out, and I imagine him working for at least a few days past Christmas. So that would mean well over 40 days, and lord I simply don't have that many ideas for a chapter each. I could blend some days together in one chapter I guess, but eh, I'm picky.**

**If you have suggestions of ideas you think would be good, then hey, hit me up. If I can think up something good with that idea, it may very well make it as a chapter. I'll of course give credit as to who sparked the idea though, if it's something I haven't come up with myself and simply haven't reached. But if not, I will say this story has about ten chapters completely planned; the first six and the final four. And I have ideas for chapters, but I'm not sure when they'll come into play. I'd say I have at least 15 chapters maybe? Dunno man.**

**Also, just gonna say now, video games are probably going to be a reoccurring thing with the story. I might not say blatantly what games they are all the time, as sometimes it simply isn't relevant to the story to tell them, but you can have fun guessing (or googling) what game I'm trying to portray. I would just make stuff up but like. Making up imaginary video games is just holy hell. See if you can guess what game I'm talking about this go around!**

**And I have absolutely no idea how to write a doctor's meeting. I'm trying to base it off of my own personal experiences with my own psychiatrist, but I didn't just want to make a carbon copy of my own sessions so eeeeh. Sorry if it feels really forced or awful.**

**Well, anyway, let's get started.**

**Warning(s): Ableism Mention [Section 4]**

* * *

><p>Mike maneuvered around the Mummy Boy that spawned in his path, avoiding the confrontation for something more favorable. He had been running around in circles for a good five minutes now, trying to locate Metal Slimes to quickly raise up his party's levels. After all, four thousand experience a pop was nothing to sneeze at; to get the same amount with the normal spawning monsters, he would've had to fought at least 35 Earthenwarriors, and that alone took more time to deal with than hunting at least one of the elusive experience grinds.<p>

He couldn't help but feel frustrated at the lack of luck he seemed to have been experiencing today; so far he'd only managed to run into three of them, and two of them ran away before he could deliver the final blow. It was always so disheartening, nearly having a victory on your hands but then in one fell swoop it all turned out to be for naught.

Mike kept going around the square dungeon, dodging out of the way of spawning enemies. Sometimes he would accidentally run into a Magus or Mean Spirit when he would zone out from the monotonous endeavor, but due to the low experience yield they had, he usually didn't even bother trying to fight them. Those few precious seconds of battle could've been all the difference in finding those Slimes, and he didn't want a waste a moment.

After a few more minutes of sighing out in frustration, Mike perked up when he saw the silver tear-drop creature fall from the roof. Immediately he charged at it, inciting the battle into play. "A metal slime draws near!" appeared on the top screen as the battle started to commence.

Mike immediately organized his party to play out certain commands. The main character, a Minstrel named Wilrick, would perform a Hypnowhip attack in the hopes it would cause the slime to get confused and be unable to flee. The second character, a Mage named Tori, would simply do a normal attack, as Metal Slimes were virtually immune to spells. The third character, a Warrior named Lydia, would enact a Metal Slash attack, as that attack in particular worked wonders on metallic enemies. And finally, a Priest named Priscel would lead off with a Mercurial Thrust; an attack that was guaranteed to go first, no matter what.

The battle began as Priscel struck out first, doing one point of damage. Wilrick went second, lashing his whip and also hitting for one damage, but failing to confuse the enemy this go around. Hopefully one more strike was all that was needed, as Metal Slimes had anywhere between three to five health. Tori jumped forward and smashed her wand into the slime, doing one point of damage as well but failing to kill the slime. Well, at least all of the attacks had landed so far; maybe the Metal Slash would be enough to KO it.

However, before Lydia could even perform her attack, the Metal Slime ran away; fading away into the background. Mike swore to himself, angry at the rather shit luck he just experienced. "_Damn, so close_," he thought; once again the fact that Warriors were so slow made another one get away.

"Mister Schmidt?" a lady called out from the other side of the room. Looking up, he saw his psychiatrist, Dr. Yolanda, standing by the doorway that lead to the offices within. Realizing now that it was time for his appointment, he closed up the 3DS and put it into his pocket, standing up and walking to the doctor.

"Oh, uh, sorry. Was a bit too into my game, didn't hear you open up," Mike rubbed the back of his head, feeling a tad embarrassed for not paying attention once again.

Dr. Yolanda gave a small smile, shaking her head and gesturing for him to follow her. "It's fine Michael, was running late anyway. Come on back now."

Mike nodded as he followed the doctor to her office. The building was currently being remodeled, so tarps and bits of wood were all about the place. However, they had yet to reach Yolanda's office, so their appointment wouldn't be bothered by relocation.

After a few seconds of walking, the two finally entered the office. Dr. Yolanda walked herself behind her desk, and sat herself down in her chair. Mike moved over to the chair in front of the desk, scooting it back a little before sitting down himself.

"So, how have you been Michael?" Yolanda started, moving some papers to the side.

"Ah, been doing pretty alright I guess. I'm alive, at least," Mike crossed his legs as he got himself more comfortable.

Yolanda nodded as she took out a clean piece of paper, clicking her pen to begin writing. "Alright, let's get to it then. Last time we visited, I started you up on Xanax to take when you thought it was necessary. Has it helped to decrease your anxiety once you've taken it?"

"Uh, I… don't really know? I mean, I guess? I'm… I'm really bad at figuring out when medicine is working or not, and honestly I'm having a bad time debating with myself whether I should take it or not. I just can't ever decide when I feel bad enough to warrant it, I've only taken it once this month and even then that was after debating for about half an hour."

"I understand, guess it is better that you're a bit hesitant and not just becoming reliant on it. How have you felt the few times you have taken it?"

"Well… I guess I feel pretty relaxed. Usually fall asleep after an hour, really gets me tired in no time; I'm a little afraid to take it before I head to bed because of it. But uh, I… I suppose it's working? Don't exactly feel worse after I take it, anyway," Mike shrugged, unsure of his answer.

"Like I said in our last session, drowsiness is one of the main side effects. But like I also said, it's best to take whenever you're having a panic attack; so even if it's in the middle of day, if you're experiencing one and you don't think you can handle it, it wouldn't hurt to pop one of them down."

"Even though it literally makes me pass out?" Mike raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, even though it makes you tired. I would like for you to one day fix your sleep schedule, since I do think it would be better for you to be active during the day again, but right now let's just focus on one step at a time. Unless you're actually working on it right now?"

"Uh, no, not really. But I do have something I'm working on now; finally got a job again on the night shift. Temporary, but hey, it's something."

Yolanda smiled brightly, jotting down the little note on the paper, "Well that's great Michael! Always good to hear you improving like that! Mind if I ask where it is?"

"Oh, uh, it's at that Fazbear pizza place. Ya know, the one with the animatronics? I look over the shop at night to make sure no one breaks in and messes with the equipment."

"Oh yeah, I heard about that place before. Never went since it seems more like a kiddie place than an actual restaurant. Heard it's got quite a reputation too, pretty amazed it's lasted as long as it did. So you'll be working there until it closes up for good?"

"Uh, either that or til I'm able to find a better paying job. Knowing my luck though, I'm probably not even going to last that long, bleh. I'm still honestly shocked I got hired in the first place, I thought for sure I flubbed up the meeting," Mike played with the little dipping bird ornament that laid on the desk, bobbing it in place. He usually had to find some way to keep his hands occupied, or else he'd just feel too antsy.

"Well Michael, you should take this as a way of being more confident in your abilities! See, things don't always have to go bad for the sake of being bad!" Yolanda finished writing on the paper for the time being, looking back up. "Anything else improved, like your mood?"

"Uh, I… sorta? I kinda feel all empty still, and it's still really hard for me to talk to others without them coming to me first. But I'm sorta talking to someone new, though I'm worried I'm not gonna last much longer. Uh, well, I guess I don't exactly feel like everything is going wrong, but I do sorta feel like… like nothing's really going right either."

Yolanda nodded again as she continued her writing. "So your mood's still in a rather stagnant position, you would say? No real improvements?"

"Ah, not really I guess. Like it's a lot better than it's been in the past, but I'm not exactly in the position I really want to be in now."

Yolanda looked back up, giving a sympathetic look. "I see. Well, since your mood's been in a bad spot for a while now, I think now would be a good time to prescribe some sort of antidepressant; was wanting to wait and see before I made a conclusion, and now seems like a good call for it. Have you ever heard of Zoloft?"

"Uh, I… no? Sorta sounds familiar, but I don't think it's anything I've ever taken before. I… I did take some sort of antidepressant before, but I have no idea what the name of it was."

"Oh? Why did the doctor you see before me stop prescribing it then? Worry of addiction?"

"No no, nothing like that, I sorta… I stopped taking it, is all. Didn't think I needed it anymore, didn't feel all depressed so thought it was pointless," Michael gave a sort of lie, as while that was part of the reason he stopped, there was another factor that ultimately played a bigger role in it; one that he didn't care to bring up.

Yolanda frowned at that, writing down some more notes. "Michael, if you didn't feel depressed, that was probably a good sign that the medicine was working. A lot of patients think they're able to just stop taking the medicine, but pretty much all of the time it's actually the medicine that's been improving their state of mind. How long ago was this?"

"Uh… few months ago? Back when I saw Dr. Ramirez instead, so it was before I started seeing you. I don't know the exacts, I'm sorry."

"It's fine, fine. So would you say your mood's been decreasing ever since you've stopped taking the medicine then?"

"Ah, yeah, I… yeah, I think so. It certainly doesn't feel like it's gotten better. Maybe… probably was a bad call on my part, I'm really sorry."

Yolanda shook her head as she continued to jot down her notes. "Well, this makes me more comfortable in prescribing this then; knowing you've actually taken antidepressants before and it seemed to give positive results. Anyway, I'm going to prescribe you a starting dose of 25 milligrams a day for one week. Once that week is up, I would like for you to start taking two pills a day, so as to make it 50 milligrams. Should be taken first thing when you wake up, and while it's not necessary, I would advise to get something in your stomach before you take it. Alright?"

"Uh… sure," Mike felt nervous now; he didn't think he'd have to go back on more medications, and he wasn't entirely sure how he felt about the idea. But he didn't exactly want to argue with his doctor either.

"I'll order it in within the hour, so try to pick it up today and start on it tomorrow. Try to take it the same time every day, that'll be the most effective," Yolanda sat her pen down as she finished her first set of notes. "Alright, is that everything you wanted covered today?"

"Actually… got one more thing I wanted to ask, if it's alright?"

"Of course Michael, what is it?"

"Uh, how do you know when medicine stops working? I sorta… I've been having more hallucinations again, even after I take my medicine for it, and some of them are… pretty bad."

Yolanda frowned, taking out a new sheet of paper and picking up her pen again, "How frequently have they been happening, and how bad would you say they are?"

"Well uh. First one happened on Tuesday, it was a noise at first but then it was visual stuff. Made my head hurt for a few hours after the fact, was probably the worst I experienced out of the bunch. Second was just another visual one, scared me at first but ultimately nothing much came out of it; I'd say it was possibly the tamest one. And the third was a whole combo of auditory, visual and… physical I guess? It sorta felt like something pushed against me, though absolutely nothing was in front of me. Can hallucinations even do that?"

"Hmm, I would say those are extremely rare, but it's not exactly out of the question. When have these all happened, if you can recall?"

"Ah, they all happened at work. First day was sorta fine, then afterwards every day since I've had a hallucination of some sort. Don't seem to have any once I get home, so I dunno. Can work influence stuff like that?"

"Stress from it could definitely being playing a part in it, especially since this is the first job you've had in a while. I'm a bit nervous to just up your Invega dosage, but if you start to experience worse hallucinations, I'd say take a second pill later in the day just to make sure. If the hallucinations become consistent, then I'd say it would be alright to just take two altogether. After a few months, we'll lower it back down to see how you react then. Alright?"

Mike nodded, tipping his chair back by pressing his foot against the desk.

Yolanda finished up her notes, placing her pen down once again and putting the papers together. "Alright, that should cover us for today. If you think you're starting to experience bad side effects from either the Zoloft or the increased dosage of Invega, give us a call and I'll try to schedule you again as soon as possible. If not, I think it would be good to see you again in a month just to check and see how you're progressing on it; see if we have to adjust dosages, or try out new medicines entirely. Sound good to you?"

"Uh, yeah, sure. One month then?" Mike steadied the chair back to the ground.

"Yes, one month or sooner if you feel it's best. I really hope this helps you Michael, I may not have seen you very long, but what I do know is you're a man with a lot of life left to him. So however way I can improve it, I'm more than happy to help."

Mike nodded, getting out of the chair now. "So I can go now?"

"Yes you can, our session is over. Try to keep up with the Zoloft, that's the one I want to monitor the most. Remember, one pill for a week, then afterwards go up to two."

"Alright doc, will do. Uh, thanks then," Mike started for the door.

"Anytime Michael, see you soon!" Yolanda put the notes aside for now as she prepared her desk for the next client.

—

Mike stumbled towards the office, keeping his phone out in front as a sort of weak guide light. He had completely forgotten about replacing the missing flashlight battery once he got home, and the thought didn't occur to him until he was already halfway to work. Once he realized his mistake, he had set his phone to play a reminder at seven o'clock to fix up the flashlight, in case he forgot again.

After a few trips and tumbles to the wall, Mike finally managed his way into the office, flicking on the light and sitting himself in the chair. He gave a look to his phone to check the time, seeing that it was 11:57. Once that was done, he pressed the button on the top of the phone to turn the screen off, then slipped it into his pocket.

He wouldn't have the guidance of the phone guy signifying the start of the game this go around, he assumed. So he would have to pay closer attention to when the clock rolled over the 12, and not just rely on hearing that phone ring. He could've set an alarm to go off on his phone once it came to be 12, but he worried at the idea that the hassle of messing with his phone would cost him precious seconds of surveying the pizzeria. So he would simply have to keep an eye on the clock, watch as it ticked on by until it approached game time.

Mike turned the fan on the desk, not paying much attention to the mess that was in front of it and causing some papers to get blown off. Mike swore to himself, scooting himself back so he could gather up the runaway papers. They all seemed to have been kid's drawings of the place, possibly given to whoever used this office during the day.

The first drawing was of the main three, together on the stage with a crowd of kids at the bottom of the page. The second was of Chica and her cupcake eating a slice of pizza. The third was of Bonnie rocking on their guitar, with one kid looking very excited next to them. Mike couldn't help but smile at the little creative drawings; seems like even with all that the place has gone through, the kids were still more than happy with their visits.

Mike picked up the final paper on the ground; it was yellowed and stained, like someone had spilled something or placed their cup on it. The picture was fairly ruined as a result, but he could make out two red blobs on the paper. Was this supposed to be Foxy? He wasn't entirely sure what the picture was supposed to be of, as it was smeared too badly to tell what it was trying to portray.

He stared at the picture for a while, just trying to see if he could figure out the mystery of the faded drawing. He didn't realize how long he had stared at it, until he suddenly heard the phone begin to ring again. Mike jumped hard, looking up from his examination to now stare at the phone. What on earth, that couldn't possibly be the phone guy again, could it? From the way it sounded, he didn't have any opportunity to record a final message, yet here the phone was ringing again.

Setting the papers back onto the desk, Mike picked the phone up and placed it to his ear. With a bit of hesitance, he answered with a "Hello?"

Mike flinched badly as static immediately played on the phone, followed by a deep, garbled voice. Mike's eye went wide in horror, hearing how it got progressively faster and harsher, louder and violent. Raspy screams began to play out, echoing throughout his head and making him shake violently in response. He pulled the phone away from his ear, but it did no good; the harsh voices still sounded loud and clear, making his heart race.

He rapidly dropped the phone as his head began to pound, the voices getting louder and louder. He couldn't make out a damn word of what was being said; it felt too distorted, too inhuman. A second scream came out, sounding higher in pitch but even rougher than the first. It then rapidly switched from one scream to the other, making a complete mess out of his head.

The noises was suddenly accompanied by new noises; harsh banging to both of his sides. Looking towards the windows to where the new sound was coming from, he felt his heart drop dead to his stomach when he saw the apparitions once again; pounding on the windows as if wanting to get in, despite the doors being wide open. Mike quickly tried to close the doors, but found that the buttons simply wouldn't work; they would make a clicking noise, but the doors remained up in place.

Mike could feel his throat close up as some of apparitions began to fill into the room, the screaming and garbling getting so loud he couldn't even hear himself breathe. He could feel the beings grab at him, taking his arms and trying to pull him out of the chair, while some smaller versions grabbed at his legs. Mike was completely horrified now, feeling the cold hands that seemed pressed against his skin, and his head absolutely pounding from the continued mess that came from the phone so crystal clearly.

Mike broke his arms out from their grasp temporarily, putting his hands to his ears in a vain attempt to stop the horrible noises; the harsh mutterings that only served to make his blood chill, the alternating screaming which made his head ache, the breathy moans from the apparitions that made his skin crawl. It did no good, as he could still hear it loud and clear, as if it wasn't impeded at all.

He started to curl in on himself, trying to wiggle out of the cold, unforgiving grasps that now covered his entire body. His breath came out in rapid bursts, his entire being shaking in both fear and coldness, his head feeling like a distorted mess. At this point, he couldn't only do the one thing he felt capable of doing.

He screamed, loud and hard, tearing his throat apart as it echoed out throughout the pizzeria.

—

Foxy tapped his hook against his leg, simply waiting now as the game began to commence. He decided to himself he'd wait three minutes this time, then he would look out and would progress further every twelve minutes the lad didn't check. Give it just a bit of a challenge, not too much of one since this was the end of his first week. Presumably, anyway; he wasn't sure if they had hired a separate weekend guard yet or not, as Freddy was the one who kept track of that.

Well, if he did stick around, that just meant more chances for visits. He really did find the man to be absolutely pleasing to talk to; there was just something about how he reacted to every little instance he brought up about being an android that made him excited. Seeing someone be so interested for once and not just be dead silent, someone being open and friendly even when they were no doubt terrified beyond belief. It made him rather giddy, made him feel important again after feeling so insignificant for so long.

Foxy was startled out of his thoughts when he heard a harsh scream coming from the other side of the pizzeria, where Mike would be situated. His mood instantly sunk when he realized what that must've meant; that he got caught already, that there wasn't going to _be_ any more visits. Peaking out of his curtain, Foxy looked over at the stage to see which one of them grabbed him.

To his shock, he saw that all three of them were still present. Bonnie was looking around as if confused, but otherwise not one of them had moved an inch. Foxy followed suit in feeling befuddled; if none of them were even active yet, why was the lad screaming so badly? Was there possibly someone else in the pizzeria? Surely not, he would've sensed an intruding presence by now!

Completely curious as to what's gotten Mike so startled, Foxy decided that perhaps today would be a good day to do an immediately visit. Going back behind the curtain, he began to demerge from the suit; starting with his legs, then progressing to his upper body and arms, and finally finishing with his head. Once he was sorted outside of the animatronic's body, he gently laid it to the side of his stage so it wouldn't fall over. He then opened up his curtain, spreading it out as wide as it would go so as to signify that he was out.

Once that was all situated, Foxy went on towards the office at a rather hurried pace. The screaming had gotten quieter as it went on, but the fact that it was so constant honestly worried him. The farther he went on, the more he could make out; soft sobbing in between the screams, the cracking of the voice from the excessiveness of it all. It was a sound that he was familiar with, but something about it sparked an even deeper sadness in him than usual.

When Foxy made it to the door, he stood by the doorway to see the man curled up in his chair, backed into the right corner of the room and shaking horribly. His legs were raised up to be in the chair, and his head was in between his knees. His hands were still pressed firmly to his ears, in some sort of attempt to try and silence the horrible noises that just wouldn't seem to stop.

"Lad?" Foxy started, tapping his hand against the wall in a vain attempt get his attention. It did no good, as Mike kept continuing with his harsh screaming and choked sobbing. Foxy frowned deeply, completely concerned at the state the man was in. He slowly walked into the room, careful with his approach.

Once Foxy stepped into the room, the cold grasps on Mike's body gradually disappeared, and the mutterings began to quiet down until it was nothing more than murmurs. Letting out light gasps at just how ragged his throat felt, he felt his body gradually relax itself once the intruding forces seemed to have dissipated.

"Lad, hey, are ye okay?" Mike could hear out now. In his petrified state, he couldn't even recognize who was even talking to him; he just knew he could hear words, and at this point he didn't even know if they were real or not.

Letting out more sobs, Mike shakily raised his head back up to see the pirate standing in front of him, bending his knees so as to not be so imposing. Or at least, that's what he should've seen, but instead his eyes saw the ruined fox animatronic; its jaw hanging low and its face completely bloodied, with little bits of pink stuff stuck on the teeth. Mike could feel renewed horror at what he saw, his eyes wide and his mouth quivering.

Foxy's look became even more concerned as he saw the man's face morph from confused relief to absolute mortification. He reached his hand out, keeping his stance steady but soft. "Mike? What's wrong mat-"

Mike retaliated hard as he thought the animatronic was reaching out for him. Giving out one last harsh scream, he kicked at the man _hard_, dead in the stomach as some form of defense. This caused the pirate's words to be cut short as he was sent backwards, losing his balance as a result and falling promptly on his ass, hitting the back of his head against the corner of the desk.

Foxy let out a pained grunt; while it wasn't as painful as a human would've felt in a similar situation, it was still an unpleasant sensation. His head felt like it was vibrating lightly, and if he had proper lungs he was pretty sure that kick would've knocked the air right out of him. He rubbed the back of his head, feeling as a small knot began to form in his synth skin.

Once that was all said and done, Mike's vision suddenly turned back to normal, making him see the man now sitting on the floor. Confused at first, when it finally occurred to him what had just happened, he swore out with raspy breath and got out of his chair.

"O-Oh sh-" Mike coughed hard at his ravaged throat, hardly able to speak as it ached so badly. "S-*cough*shit man, *cough* so-so-*cough*sorry, I'm so so-sorr*cough*-ry, f-fu*cough*uck," he wheezed as he barely managed to say even that much, coughing in between nearly every word. He tried to squat himself down, but couldn't keep steady due to his hawking, causing him to join the pirate in sitting on the floor.

Foxy looked back over the man, putting his hand down from his head. He didn't look mad in the slightest, and in fact looked sympathetic. He couldn't help but flinch every time the man hacked so harshly, sounding like it was coming deep from his lungs. "Ye need some water lad?"

Unable to answer due to his constant wheezing, Mike simply nodded his head as he gripped at his throat. On one hand that felt like too nice of a thing for what he just did to the android; he should've been scolded, been told he overreacted. But on the other hand he was pretty sure his throat was bleeding from all of this, so the water would be a welcomed relief.

Foxy pushed himself off the floor, straightening out his slightly hitched shirt. He offered a hand to Mike to help him up as well, but the man was having such a fit with his coughing that he didn't even notice. Foxy frowned, squatting himself down again so as to speak to the man without raising his voice. "Ye seem ta be havin' some trouble. Mind if I pick ye up? Promise I'll be gentle."

Mike hocked out a loogie that formed in his throat, keeping his mouth closed so that he wouldn't sputter it out. He shook his head, confirming he didn't care what the pirate did. He just knew he wanted something to calm his throbbing throat, so the faster he got that, the better.

Foxy put his left arm underneath the security guard's legs, then placed his hook to his back as he hoisted him up. With a bit of maneuvering, he returned the man to the seat, being as careful as he could so as to not disturb him much. Once he was situated back in place, Foxy nodded his head, "I'll be back soon, keep safe lad."

Mike nodded back himself, watching as the man walked out of the room. He reached for his bag to take out a tissue, swishing around the bit of mucus in his mouth as he did so. Once he pulled one out, he expelled the foreign fluid into the paper, and looked into it. It was specked with blood, but thankfully it wasn't much; just a streak of bright red color in the clear gunk. He folded up the napkin and gave it a toss to the trash.

—

Meanwhile, Foxy continued his trek to the kitchen. Walking into the dining area, he quickly took a look to the stage to see the three still present on it. He hummed to himself, glad that Bonnie and Chica decided that it was best if they stayed in place. Then again, neither of them really tried to do anything once they realized Foxy was having a visit; it was Freddy that you had to be worried about, but as long as at least one of the other two were on the stage, Freddy wouldn't budge an inch.

Foxy trotted himself into the kitchen, going over to the large refrigerator at the other side of the room. He tugged at the handle, which was met with one of those random instances of resistance. Grunting out slightly, he released the handle, then tried it again, this time succeeding in opening the door. With that, he scanned the fridge for an unopened bottle of water, which was surprisingly hard to locate this go around; usually the employees were good at taking home the bottles they used, but today seemed like an exception.

After a bit of rearranging stuff, he finally found a full bottle hiding behind some flour. Taking it out, he broke the seal of the lid so the man would be able to drink it as soon as he gave it to him, then screwed it back in place; closing the door with his foot and giving it a press to make sure it was properly sealed before he left.

A few more moments of walking back to the office, Foxy popped back into view from the right side. Mike looked significantly calmer now, and wasn't coughing quite as intensely as he was before; but his eyes still looked rather stressed, and the pirate could see his breathing was rather pained. He held out the bottle towards the man, making sure to keep a fair enough distance in case he wasn't quite recovered yet. "Sorry it took so long, was surprisingly hard ta find an unopened one this go 'round."

Mike shook his head, taking the bottle from the android and quickly unscrewing the lid. Once it was off, Mike chugged the water down in big gulps, not stopping until it was a little under half full. When he finally felt his throat relax some, he took the bottle off of his lips, sighing out in relief. "Aah, holy shit, d-definitely needed that. Thanks," Mike responded, his voice still rather gaspy, but otherwise he wasn't coughing after every word.

Foxy nodded, smiling slightly in response. "Feelin' better now?"

"A-Ah, yeah. Throat… ahem, throat's pretty fucked, but that's my own fault. Uh, are you okay though? It-It looked like I hurt ya pretty badly…" Mike gave a nervous look, gripping the water fairly tightly in his hands.

Foxy gave a chuckle, then shook his head. "Nay, I'm fine. Caught me off guard is all. Got quick a kick, don't ye?"

"B-but your head…?" Mike inquired, hoping that he didn't cause any severe damage. Were robots capable of having concussions?

"Got nicked a lil, but it's fine. Takes a lot ta get this cap'n in a mess, an' no offense ta ye lad, but ye really don't have tha strength ta do that kinda damage ta me. Ye have ta be at least 300 pounds o' pure muscle ta do anythin' worryin'."

"Well, t-that's good… Uh, I'm… I'm really sorry I just d-did what I did, I just…" Mike cut himself short, sighing out in nervousness. He was amazed the man was still being as friendly as he was, especially since he must've looked like a complete mess for acting like he did. He always felt ashamed of himself when hallucinations scared him so badly like that, getting literally terrified at nothing but random shit your brain made.

"Ye were in a bad spot, can understand that I must've startled ye somethin' awful. Really didn't mean ta, I should be tha one apologizing; should've took warnin' signs when ye didn't look so happy ta see me, should've known ta give ye some space," Foxy gave a gentle look to the man as he continued. "What 'bout ye, lad? Are ye okay? What got ye so badly frightened?"

Mike was deathly quiet at the question, not really sure how to react. He always felt scared of telling people about his disorder; so many times they seemed to see him as lesser, as crazy. If he had an episode, people would get fearful or disgusted, look at him as if he should be locked away. Ronnie was pretty much the only one who always tried to be supportive, and his friends were very hit-and-miss. They still were nice to him, at least, but he pretty much always had to make sure to go against what his brain was telling him to do when he experienced them around them.

However, the pirate was being so kind towards him, not even trying to demean him. He hadn't even known him for a week, yet here he was treating him better than most of his long-time friends. Would it be a good idea to just tell him about it then; to not make excuses to try and seem normal? He certainly knew he couldn't really just say he got startled again, how he reacted was far beyond any typical reaction one would have.

"Uh, uh I'm… sorta nervous to say. Uh, can you… promise not to call me crazy if I tell ya? I really… _really_ don't like when people call me that," Mike spoke out nervously, giving the pirate a sheepish look. He expected the worst to happen now that he so much as asked that, and braced himself as a result.

"Why would I call ye crazy?" was all Foxy responded with.

Mike was caught off guard at that response; it certainly wasn't what he expected to hear. He thought at best the android would say "_Well that'll be hard, but I'll try not ta_," but instead he responded as if it hadn't even passed him as a thought. "… Ah, well, I… I acted really bizarrely, f-for what seemed like no reason. People… other people always think I'm crazy for it, even if they kn-know why I sometimes do it. I… that doesn't seem crazy to you?"

Foxy shrugged. "People do all sorts o' things, who am I ta judge 'em fer it? Sure, I'm a lil confused as ta why ye screamed like ye did, but I know ye gotta have a reason fer it; and whatever reason that is, I won't just disregard it. I'd understand though if it's a bit o' a sensitive subject, I just want ta know if there's any way I could help ye feel better."

Mike swallowed hard, he _really_ wasn't expecting that. He took in a deep breath and started, "Well… it really wouldn't hurt if I told ya. In fact it… might be more relieving to not just hide it. Like that other day, right? Where ya said you felt better for talking about the stuff you dealt with?"

Foxy nodded and hummed in response, staying quiet so as to not interrupt the lad.

"Well, I… I've sorta lied to you a couple of days now. Not really major lies, but just… lies because I'm so damn scared to just say it out loud; to be judged again for something I can't control. Like yesterday, where I said I just tripped, that was… wasn't really the truth. Uh, and the other day with the yellow suit, I mean it sorta was the truth, but the situation I saw it in really wasn't. I just…" Mike sighed out, realizing he was dancing around the explanation like an asshole.

"Sorry, sorry, sorta went off topic. Anyway, I… well I…" He took in another breath to steady his nervousness, staring at the man now instead of just being lost in his thoughts. Foxy merely gave him a compassionate look, not looking angry or upset in the slightest. This helped him feel calmer as he continued on. "I… see things that aren't really there. Hear things that no one else can, feel things that don't even exist, I… I have hallucinations, and for a few days now I've been having them _constantly_."

Mike's eyes wandered off a moment, making him realize the phone was still dangling off the desk by the wire. Foxy followed Mike's stare and finally noticed the droning phone hanging beside him. He pulled up the wire until the phone was up to where he could reach it, then hung it back onto the hook. He then looked back at Mike and waited to see if he had anything more to say.

"Oh, uh… Sorry about that, sorta forgot it. Which is bad, this whole deal started cause of that phone, and I just promptly forgot it even existed, heh…"

Foxy shook his head, showing his didn't mind the little extra work.

"Ahem, ah, well… Today I thought I heard the phone ring again. No idea if it actually did or that was a hallucination in of itself. When I answered it… I had a really, _really_ bad sound hallucination, probably one of the worst I've experienced in a long time. It was so loud, so overpowering, I could practically feel my head vibrate even when the phone wasn't next to my ear. On its own I probably wouldn't have freaked out as badly as I did, but then… more happened."

Mike rubbed at his arm and looked away now, not really wanting to make eye contact as he explained. He didn't want to see if the man's expression changed as he talked, but he didn't want to just stop now; not since he's gotten so far. "I heard more noises, and the next thing I knew I was… surrounded. There were these ghosts all around me, coming into the room, grabbing at me and trying to pull me apart it felt like. The grabbing… that's what really got to me, I just… I felt so _cold_, so scared; my heart literally felt like it was going to just give out from fright."

Mike's thoughts suddenly went off topic as he just remembered something; the fact the doors didn't seem to work during the whole ordeal. Giving a look to the left door button, he pressed it, expecting to hear that clicking sound again. To his shock, the door came down loudly, making him jump in response. Foxy looked confused at what the lad was doing, but ultimately didn't question it.

With that, Mike pressed the button again so that it would go back up. "S-Sorry 'bout that, just wanted to check something. Uh, where was I again?"

"Ye said somethin' 'bout ghosts an' bein' grabbed?" Foxy responded, not even sounding skeptical about what he just said.

Mike was instantly brought back to his train of thoughts then. With that, he felt a shiver go down his spine, remembering the cold grasps that pressed to his flesh, completely ignoring the fabric of his clothing. "Oh, uh, right. Uh… the next thing I knew, I was just screaming. I just wanted it to stop, but I couldn't even move, I couldn't do anything but scream and scream. It… it lasted so long, I thought for sure I was going to die. But then it slowly faded away, like a bad itch or something, and everything got peaceful again. I felt like I could think again."

Mike unscrewed the lid of the water bottle as he took another chug, his throat beginning to feel dry from the long bouts of talking. Once it felt properly wet enough again, he closed it up and continued. "That's when I heard you, I guess. I wasn't too sure, to me it just felt like more noise, maybe even another hallucination. When I looked up, I got… a really unpleasant surprise. It looked like you in your suit, but all… bloodied, all messed up."

He fidgeted in his seat, resisting the urge to look at the pirate; to see if it looked like he was judging him, to see if his once gentle look was now full of disgust. "It… it really wasn't something I needed to see, not after all that shit just happened. As a result I just… kicked out. I could actually move this time, so my body instantly went into fight mode. I'm… I'm glad I didn't go much further though, once you fell to the ground my vision went back to normal and… well, I felt shitty. So damn shitty, I really can't apologize enough for how I acted."

With a final sigh, Mike finished up the explanation. "So, that's why… that's why I screamed. Literally over nothing, just my brain being a fucking mess again. I'm really sorry, really sorry to have bothered you like I did, really sorry for no doubt freaking you out."

Foxy got up from off the desk, walking towards the man and squatting down to meet his eyes. When he did, Mike looked away in embarrassment, not even giving a chance to see what the pirate looked like. Foxy frowned at that, placing his hand on his shoulder as a gesture of goodwill. "Mike, lad, look at me please."

With a bit of hesitance, Mike turned his head back around to stare into the android's eyes. When he did, he felt his heart pick up in pace at just how sweet of a look the eyes held; not looking disgusted or horrified or any sort of negative thing like that. Just looking compassionate, concerned, so kind.

Once his eyes were properly locked back onto his, Foxy continued on. "Ye don't have ta apologize, ye did nothing wrong. Ye thought ye were in danger, and ye reacted in a way probably everyone would've. Just because I didn't see it, doesn't make it any less real ta ye."

Foxy gave a small smile as he gently squeezed the man's shoulder. "Hell, I don't blame ye one bit; that sounded really scary matey, somethin' no one should have ta go through. But ye do, an' ye did, an' fer that, that truly shows how strong ye are. Ye deal with stuff some o' us never even have ta think about, an' while it may get ye on edge at first, ye ultimately power through it an' continue yer life. That's somethin' ta be admired fer! Fer how ye can power through yer fears no matter how bad it gets!"

Mike's mouth was slightly agape at the pirate's reaction; never had he seen anyone outside of his own brother be as supportive of him like the android was right now. Blinking just to make sure he was still in fact in reality, he spoke up. "So… you're not mad?"

"O' course not, nothin' ta be mad at ye 'bout! Like ye said, ye can't help tha fact yer brain does this, ta ye this is just like havin' a bad sneeze or somethin'! It's somethin' that happens randomly, somethin' ye can't control! Why should I be mad at ye fer just bein' ye, eh?"

Mike's eyes were wide in shock, an absolutely warm feeling spreading through his body again just like the night before. Except this time it was more intense, going all throughout him to make him feel all cozy and happy. He could feel tears come to his eyes and his mouth shaped into a large smile. Without giving a thought, he hugged the android tightly, having the positive feelings control his actions instead of his consciousness.

Foxy was a bit shocked at the sudden reaction, but quickly smiled and hugged the man back. It had been a long time since he'd been hugged like this; the last time was back when he used to be part of the show, when the kids would beg him for hugs after he finished up. It was a welcomed feeling, one he hadn't felt in a long time, and one that he still enjoyed even now. He gently rubbed the man's back in response, patting it lightly in a soothing gesture.

After minutes of just being in the embrace, Mike finally snapped back into his thoughts and realized what he just did. Blushing out in embarrassment, he let go of the man and stuttered out, "O-Oh, uh, I-I'm sorry, I wasn't… th-thinking, that was rude of me."

Foxy let out a laugh, shaking his head. "It's fine lad, nothin' rude 'bout a hug! Have ta be a rather heartless man ta be angry at that, wouldn't I?" He tapped the man's back once last time before he returned his hand to his leg. "Anyway, now I know a bit more 'bout ye now, don't I? Makes us even in tha secrets, eh? Ye know I'm a robot, an' I know ye experience stuff others don't! Now we know each other better than before, right?"

Mike sniffed as he rubbed his eyes, his smile going smaller but still vibrant in its excitement. "Y-Yeah, I g-guess we do, don't we? Not so much strangers now, huh?"

"Nope, not a bit! We be proper friends, through an' through! An' we'll be learnin' more 'bout each other as tha nights go on, won't we? Certainly not strangers now!"

Mike beamed again and nodded excitedly, his eyes glowing at just how happy he felt right now. He had to resist the urge to hug the pirate again; he just felt so giddy, it was incredible! He was in such a good mood that he couldn't help but let out a giggle, feeling like his entire body was brimming with positivity.

Foxy let out a laugh as he stood himself up, still staring into the man's eyes. "Well, sorry ta be a bit o' a kill joy, but me time here's just 'bout up. Ah, I suppose I'll be seein' ye again on Monday?"

Mike felt his happiness die down slightly as he contemplated that. Well, he definitely wasn't hired to work over the weekends, so there was no reason he would come to work as usual. Except he knew he didn't really have anything else to do around his house, and hell, some extra pay sounded mighty fine right about now. "Actually… I think I may do some overtime. Sorta need the money, ya know? Besides, gotta see just how tough the weekend is! See if you guys really do pick it up, or if you're just being braggy, haha!"

Foxy laughed out, feeling happy to know he was going to see the lad again tomorrow. The positivity the man exuded was absolutely addictive, making his own circuits feel charged with delight. "Well, that's great ta hear! Lookin' forward ta seein' ya then, lad! Keep up tha good mood, it's wonderful seein' ye so passionate like this!"

He turned himself around and grabbed the tablet off the desk, handing it to the man so he'd be ready as soon as he left. As he did this, a thought suddenly came to his head that made him rather excited; he wasn't entirely sure that he would able to get this to happen, but damn he wanted to try at least. The joy he was feeling was just so overpowering, he truly wanted to see it come to fruition.

"Ah, before I leave matey, I got a bit o' a weird question fer ye. Do ye have any kinda favorite pizza? Like anything outside of pepperoni?"

"Oh, uh, yeah! I really like Hawaiian pizza with bacon and banana peppers added on it, that's probably my favorite kind. Why ya want to know?"

"Just somethin' I was curious 'bout. Had pizza on me brain 'gain an' thought it wouldn't hurt ta ask. Got quite a unique taste, don't ye?" Foxy gave one last chuckle before he went to the door.

"Haha, yeah, so much so my brother thinks it's the nastiest thing in the world. Ah well, his loss!" Mike rested the tablet in his lap, tracing circles on the top of the screen. "What about you Captain? What tickles your fancy?"

"Ah, I'm an anchovy lover meself. Sorta have ta have tha heads cut off though, otherwise I have a _lot_ o' trouble gettin' meself ta take a bite. Somethin' 'bout tha eyes just makes me go eeeeugh," he gave a captain's salute before he bid the man farewell. "Well, be seein' ye tomorrow lad! Remember, check Pirate Cove!"

"See ya then Captain!" Mike called back, watching as he walked down into the hallway. Even though he felt sad that the visit seemed to have gone by so quickly this time, his mood was still absolutely elated. He definitely knew he didn't want to just wait until Monday to see the pirate again, so he guessed to himself that he'd give his boss a call to tell him he'd like to do the weekend this go around. He wasn't sure that he'd want to do it every weekend, but this weekend at the very least he wouldn't mind.

Mike turned on the tablet as he prepared himself for tonight's challenges, humming a happy tune to himself as he did so.


	6. Pizza Date

**And now for the final planned out chapter for the beginning. Now it's gonna be me trying to figure out what sequence of events for the future chapters, and let me tell you this has been oddly difficult to think out. Like I know I want to do at least one chapter per day with this first week, but I simply don't know what to write for the seventh chapter and it's bugging the hell out of me, bleh.**

**Sorta been interested in some other things and haven't really been thinking much about the story. Been playing Flight Rising to try and get the new Nocturne dragon, and managed to get one on Christmas Eve (Actually got two eggs but I sold the other one, eheh.) That and another ship's sorta taken over my life unexpectedly, like I saw a grand total of one picture for it and my brain went "YES. VERY MUCH LIKE." I don't think I'll really do anything with it, but it's fun to imagine stuff with it.**

**I just love dorky ass ships so much and I found another one that hit those buttons and god damn I'm a mess. Hopefully this won't impede the story much, but who knows, my focus is very hit and miss with stuff like this. That and I simply don't know when I'll be able to update, like I said trying to come up with a seventh chapter is just. Bleh. I've got ideas but I don't know which one to use it's pissing me off.**

**Well, in any case, here we go, chapter 6! To note, I have no idea how managing a restaurant would work, so I'm really sorry if it's really painful/wrong how I wrote it. Trying to google it just brought up a lot of different results that didn't tell me what I wanted to know, welp.**

**Warning(s): Casually Ableist Language [Section(s) One, Seven and Eight]**, **Violent Thoughts [Section Nine]**

* * *

><p>The shuffling of papers was all that was heard in the small office, separating the important paperwork and the children's art that had accumulated over the years. Bits of information about the week's profits, what ingredients were all used, and the customer satisfaction at the end of it all adorned the paper, while off to the side two new drawings were added to the pile. So far it seemed like the week had gone off with little problems; while there were a couple of complaints over doughy pizza—no doubt caused with the new chef that was barely in the 12th grade—nothing drastic seemed to have occurred to warrant worry.<p>

Freddy wrote down on a blank paper little reminders of what had to be done over the next few days. Ordering more ingredients that were starting to get low, monitor for possible mice instances in the kitchen, more cleaning supplies to handle the messes the kids made. Typical stuff that had to be done at the end of each week, to make sure the final days of the pizzeria were spent without a hitch.

As he continued writing the ever growing list, Freddy's attention was drawn away from his work by a tapping noise coming from his right. Looking over to the distraction, he was met by the tanned pirate standing in the doorway. His look was rather disheveled, with his red hair all matted in a mess from constantly running back and forth, but that didn't seem to stop the jaunty smile that decorated his face.

"Ahoy Freddy! Uh, sorry fer tha bother, I know ye have ta be busy, but just had somethin' I wanted ta talk with ye 'bout. Just fer a moment, if ye don't mind," there was a certain eagerness to his words, the way he spoke in a rather rushed manner as if he wanted to get to the point as soon as he could.

Freddy looked back at his work as he continued jotting down notes. "Go on, I'm listening."

"Ah, well, I was just thinkin' 'bout somethin' since last night, just a lil thing I think would be rather fun ta do. Somethin' ta spice up tha night from tha usual humdrum, if ye get what I mean!" Foxy clapped his hands together, tapping his fingers against the palm.

"Mmm," was all Freddy replied with, adding to the notes that one of the Fs in the sign outside had burned out.

"I was wonderin' if I could pull a lil surprise fer tha night watch this go 'round. Since he's stickin' 'round tha rest o' tha week, just thought it'd be a nice gesture! Way ta give some extra morale, eh?"

Freddy frowned, setting his pen down and looking back at the pirate. "What… kind of surprise."

"Oh, I just wanted ta give tha lad a fresh-baked pizza, is all! Give him somethin' nice, a lil treat fer havin' survived so far! I'd do it durin' me visit tanight, so it wouldn't take up any more time away from yer lil game!" Foxy beamed at his boss, his grin now turning toothy.

Freddy's brows furrowed intensely, not looking quite enraged but certainly not looking impressed. "Why on earth do you suddenly want to do something like that."

"Well, like I said, I just thought it'd be a friendly gesture! Way o' sayin' congrats fer bein' tha longest lived guard o' me own game, an' fer bein' brave enough ta actually risk his skin 'gain fer a day he didn't need ta! Plus, thought it'd be nice since his night wasn't so grand yesterday. Ye did hear him scream, right?"

"That doesn't matter, I've heard plenty of guards scream before. So have you, for that matter. He's not the first to do overtime either, so it's not like it's some grand endeavor he's doing," Freddy spoke sternly, his voice laced with denial.

"Aw, com'on matey, just this one time? I just would like ta try somethin' new, an' not just talk."

"What makes you think you'll be capable of even cooking up something edible? You remember what happened last time," Freddy's look only got more disapproving, remembering quite well how the pizzeria stunk of fire for days, practically causing another rumor to pop up that the place would burst to flames at any second.

"Oh, no worries 'bout that, I wouldn't be tha one doin' that cookin'! Was gonna get Chica ta do that, already talked ta her 'bout it an' she's on board with it! Won't even so much as look at tha oven, promise!" Foxy was quick to the response, ready to defend his idea at any point.

Freddy paused at that, thinking of a retort. "…How do you know she really wants to do that, that you're not just pressuring her? You know she's nervous around people she barely knows, she can't even stand near the other chefs without feeling uncomfortable."

"What? I didn't say tha lad was gonna cook with her, I was just sayin' she was willin' ta cook up a pizza fer him! Ye know how much she loves ta make pizza, no way she's gonna just pass up that opportunity," Foxy was rather perplexed at that counter, and practically had to resist the growing urge to call the fellow android a hypocrite. After all, he always expected Chica to play along with his game with no questions or hesitance. But he resisted, not wishing to provoke the man that would ultimately decide if he could do this or not.

"…Well, what about ingredients? Power? I'm not just gonna let you use what limited supplies we have for fun, and surely you realize the oven won't run on air alone."

"I'll dip inta some o' me saved tips fer that; pretty sure what I've made taday alone's more than enough ta cover what I use! An' tha oven's only gonna be used fer like, ten minutes at most! Sure, that'll drain some power, but it's not like it's gonna make it dire! Pretty sure tha cameras drain it faster than that oven could!"

"You know that money goes to the higher-ups at the end of the week though. You think they'd let you just spend it to slightly increase our already limited budget?"

"Oh com'on Freddy, they don't have ta know! Just write down I made ten less dollars than I actually did on tha report, then use tha ten bucks fer what I use! I'm only making one blasted pizza, I'm pretty sure that would more than cover it! 'sides, it wouldn't hurt those stuck-ups ta get a lil less money than usual; be their just desserts really." Foxy was getting more agitated as this went on, but he kept steadfast in his resolve.

Freddy simply looked away now, not even wanting to acknowledge the insistent android. "No," was all he said.

"Matey, com'on, be reasonable he-"

"_No_," he said more sternly, about to write up the day's safety report. Before he could do so, he felt a force suddenly weigh on his arm, causing him to abruptly drop the pen at the unaccustomed feeling.

Foxy was leaning against the man's arm, draping himself across it like one would lay on a bed and putting much force down upon it. If he wasn't even going to get a decent counter than just a stubborn no, he wasn't going to play sophisticated now. "Com'ooooooooooon."

"Foxy, get off of me," Freddy tried to push the man off, but the pirate simply gripped onto the chair to keep himself steady.

"Com'ooooooooooooon," Foxy droned on, his voice going higher in pitch.

"Foxy, you're acting like a ch-"

"Com'ooooooooooo_oooooooooon_," Foxy said as his voice went into more of a gurgle at how long the word went. Eventually the word wasn't even comprehensible, as he simply made an annoying noise from the back of his throat that went on far too long.

This managed to hit Freddy's nerves far harder than he was expecting. He tried to just ignore it at first, to finish up today's report before it got any later, but the way Foxy kept going on and on with it made his head literally pound. Gritting his teeth, he clutched the pen tightly and closed his eyes, feeling the frustration building up. Eventually he couldn't handle it anymore and responded with a rather harsh "**FINE**. Fine, you can make your stupid pizza. But don't you _dare_ do this shit again, you understand?"

Foxy smiled brightly at his success, swallowing the spit that accumulated from the gurgles and getting himself up off of the man. Looking down at Freddy, he gave a light hug before finally backing away. "Thanks matey, really appreciate it! Promise I won't, like I said it's just a one time deal I wanted ta do!"

Freddy simply grumbled at that, rubbing his rather sore arm while still keeping a disgruntled look. Foxy backed out towards the doorway, saying his thanks again before he trotted himself down the hallway. Once he left, Freddy looked over at the doorway he came in, and felt his face soften up now that the pirate wasn't around. Listening to the footsteps that gradually got quieter, once they were virtually unnoticeable, he sighed out; his face now looking concerned as he went on with his paperwork.

"_Well… wasn't expecting that. I thought a no would be good enough, I didn't think he would insist like that…_" Freddy tapped his pen against the paper, unable to get his focus back on his work. "_You're certainly not going to like this when you find out, will you? You were practically seething when you saw him out just the other day…_"

Freddy flinched at his thoughts, a twinge of disgust hitting his stomach at the memory. How he wanted to come off the stage so badly, come down and tear him apart just like he tore their bodies to pieces. Even though he knew full and well he wasn't the one who did that, the loathing was so strong, so _potent_. He shook his head as he tried to ignore the negative feeling welling within.

"_Foxy… is a good friend. He deserves something nice, something for dealing with me. And if that something nice is being even friendlier to the guard, well, I can live with it. I'll… I'll handle your anger when it comes, little one._"

—

"You sure that's a good idea?" Chica questioned, watching as Foxy climbed up on the counter to gain access to the camera.

"Aye, it's fine. Want this ta be as much o' a surprise as possible, after all! I'll hook it back up once we're done in here," Foxy steadied his feet as he reached for the wires in the back of the device. Once he located the main cord that powered the camera, he gave it a tug and unplugged it from the wall, letting it dangle down as a result. "'sides, not like it's gonna hurt much if I do ferget it. Video's been busted fer ages now, an' it's not really crucial ta know if yer in here or not."

"I… meant more about climbing on the counter. But whatever," Chica shrugged, going over to the refrigerator to pull out the ingredients. "So, Hawaiian Pizza, right?"

Foxy jumped down, making a noisy bang as he landed on the floor. He flinched a little at just how loud it was, but pulled himself together quick enough. At least Mike hadn't arrived yet, he was pretty sure that was loud enough that he could hear it even from the other side of the building. "Aye, with bacon an' banana peppers. That's what he said he liked."

Chica made a slightly disgusted face as she pulled out the tomato sauce. "God, I would've thought banana peppers would clash way too badly with the pineapple. You sure it was banana peppers?"

"Aye, been repeatin' it in me head since he first told me. Never actually had banana peppers before, they any good?" Foxy walked himself over to join Chica at the fridge, helping to get the rest of the ingredients out.

"Eh, I'm not a fan of them myself. They've got a sorta sweet, tangy taste to them, and it kinda throws me off. Like with pineapple, it just… to me it clashes too much with the savory taste to be any good," Chica sat the bottle of sauce on the table, then went back to look for the rest of the stuff.

"Fair enough then. So what do they even look like?" Foxy pulled out the bag of flour and sat it next to the sauce.

"They're like, yellow strands. Easy to tell, you'll know when you see them," Chica rummaged around until she located the small bag of yeast, setting it out as well.

With that, Foxy nodded as they finished up gathering the ingredients. Once all of them were fished out, Chica walked over to the shelf to pull down the salt and olive oil. "Pull out a couple of bowls and a big spoon for me, please. I'll get the knife and rolling pin."

"Aye aye!" Foxy complied, going over to the cabinet to get the necessary tools. It took a bit to locate the right size bowls, but after a few moments he found some that seemed large enough for the job. Once he sat the bowls on top of the counter, he reached over to the stand that held the wooden spoons and pulled one out, setting it within one of the bowls.

Chica had since pulled out the knife and rolling pin, having placed them near the cutting board on top of the table. She was now at the sink, washing her hands as she readied herself for the preparations. After a few seconds of scrubbing, Chica finally ran the warm water over her hands again and pulled off a paper towel, turning the water off with her free hand.

Giving the paper a toss to the trash can once her hands were dry, Chica took the bowls over to the table and sat them next to the flour and sugar. "Alright, just need a cup of hot water now and we can start on the dough. Can you get me some, Foxy?"

"O' course," Foxy said, reaching over to the measuring cup and picking it up, walking over towards the sink this time. He turned the hot water and let it run for a bit, then afterwards put his finger slightly under the water to feel the temperature. He deemed it was hot enough when he pulled back and hissed a little, sucking his now red finger. With his other hand, he placed the cup under the faucet and let it fill up.

Once the water reached to the one cup mark, he pulled it out from the water and turned the sink off, walking back over to Chica while being careful not to spill the pipping hot liquid. When it was settled back onto the table, Chica went to work on preparing the dough. First she coated the smaller bowl with oil, then poured the water, yeast and sugar together. In the other bowl, Chica put in the flour and salt, and waited as the yeast started to activate.

When the yeast began to foam, Chica scooped a little hole within the flour and salt mixture, then poured the yeast within the middle. She finished up the combination by putting in more oil, then took the spoon and began to mix it all together. Foxy simply watched now as the dry ingredients moistened over time, leaning over on the other side of the table and tapping his fingers to the wood.

Chica sprinkled flour on the cutting board now, then took the goop in the bowl and scooped it out until it was all within the flour. With that, she began to knead the dough. "Could you rinse out one of the bowls? Gonna have to use it again, but I need the gunk out of them."

Foxy nodded, taking the larger bowl and running it under the sink. Once it was all washed up, he took a few paper towels and dried the inside off, then sat it back next to Chica. After a few minutes of turning the dough, Chica brushed her hands off and got the oil out again, greasing up the bowl once more. When it was properly oiled up, Chica took the dough and placed it right in the middle, then put plastic wrap over the top. "Okay, just take that marker over there and draw a circle around where the dough is. We'll use that to watch how the dough expands."

Foxy hummed in confirmation, picking up the permanent marker that sat off to the side. Pulling the lid off, he placed the tip to the plaster and carefully drew a circle roughly in the shape of the dough. Chica had since gone over to the sink to wash off her now grimy hands. "Now just flip on that lamp in the corner and put the bowl under the light. That'll help heat it up so it'll rise faster."

"How long's it gonna take, lass?" Foxy asked as he followed the instructions, putting the bowl beneath the lamp and turning it on.

"About an hour or two, depends on the recipe and temperature. I used a pretty basic recipe though, so it should take an hour at least."

"Blimey, that sure seems a long time just ta make one pizza. How're ye able ta make so many in a day?" Foxy raised an eyebrow at the response.

"Oh, this is more than enough to make like, five or so pizzas once it all expands. I have to cut it up into sections, and I'll use one of the sections to make the pizza. I'll save the rest up for tomorrow; and hey, this'll make preparing in the morning a little easier too. Already'll have like four things ready, saves some time."

Foxy hummed at that, nodding at the explanation. "So that's why ye wanted ta start on this so early, I get it now. Was worried we'd make it too fast an' it'd already be cold once tha lad arrived, heh," Foxy walked himself over to the kitchen door and pushed it open. "I'm gonna check ta make sure everthin's still in place, want me ta grab a card game while I'm out?"

"Uh, sure. Get one of the basic decks, I think I'd like to play some War."

"Ah, good choice lass! Be back in a bit!" Foxy gave a little salute as the walked out of the room, the door swinging shut behind him.

—

"Haha, got ourselves a war here, eh?" Foxy sang as he flipped over his card. Both him and Chica had drawn out an eight, Foxy's being of hearts and Chica's of clubs. They were playing the most basic version of the game, so the symbols had no determining factor over the value of the card.

Chica hummed as she drew out three cards faced down. Foxy did much of the same, then drew a fourth card and placed it in the upright position. He drew unluckily and managed a two, while Chica flipped out a three, just barely beating him. Foxy pouted out a little, then chuckled to himself as he pushed his cards over to Chica.

"By the seas, can't seem ta get a lucky break taday, huh? Don't even know how many times I've drawn a tw-" Foxy cut himself off when his sensors picked up a heat signature approaching the building from the front. Going deathly quiet, he looked towards the door and merely stared at it. Chica followed suit, staying silent so as to not alert whoever it was.

Foxy carefully trotted over to the kitchen door, opening it up just enough so as to hear any noise. A few seconds passed, and they could hear the front door open and close, followed by a clicking noise as the bolt was put in place. Footsteps then sounded out through the dining room, getting louder as it walked towards the hallways before eventually quieting down. Once the footsteps were no longer audible, Foxy gave a smile and closed the door.

"Well, lad's here. Tha dough ready yet?"

Chica pushed herself off the table and went to the lamp, looking into the bowl to see how much the dough had expanded. "… It's a little bigger, but not quite ready yet. I'd say another twenty minutes, then we check again."

"Alrighty then," Foxy said as he walked himself back to the table. "So we still got some time ta kill, an' I still got a chance ta win! Let's go lass, yer luck's just 'bout up!" he replied cheerful, taking the top card off of his deck and flipping it over for his next play.

—

"Okay, dough's big enough. Clear off the table please, I'm gonna wash my hands now," Chica replied, carrying the bowl over and setting it down next to the cutting board once more.

Foxy complied and gathered up the cards, stacking them all together and pushing them back in the box. Once it was situated in place, Foxy walked over to the counter and put them off to the side, then joined Chica at the sink to follow suit in washing his own hands.

When both of their hands were properly clean, the two of them walked over to the table once more. Chica pulled off the plastic wrap, then took the dough out of the bowl and sat it on the cutting board. With that, she picked up the knife and began dividing the dough into separate pieces, being careful so as to make each division the same size.

Once they were properly cut up, Chica pulled the plate over from the side towards her. She picked up one of the pieces and started to roll it up into a ball. "Take that cloth now and get it damp. Not soaking though, wring it out until it's not dripping water."

Foxy took the cloth off the table and went over to the sink. "Can I ask what's tha point o' it? Out o' all o' tha stuff we used, this probably confuses me tha most."

"It's to help moisturize the dough, so it's easier to shape and won't be so dry when you take it out of the oven," Chica said as she placed the first ball down on the plate, then picked up another piece and did much of the same with it.

"Ah," Foxy simply said as he followed the command, running the cloth under the water until it was properly wet, then squeezed it hard to get all the extra liquid out. When there was no longer a string of water constantly coming from the corner, Foxy gave it one last shake before he draped it over his hand and went back to Chica.

Chica had finished up rolling the pieces, placing each one on the plate. With that, she gestured for Foxy to place the cloth over them. Foxy gently laid it over each piece, making sure they were all covered up. "So when will they be ready now?"

"Few minutes, I say. You know it's ready when you poke your finger in it and it makes an indention."

"Sure seems like a lot o' effort just ta make this much. Still amazed ye manage all this everyday lass. I can't hardly keep me tables in order, yet ye manage ta make hundreds o' these without a hitch," Foxy beamed, complimenting the woman generously.

Chica looked away as she smiled a shy smile. She always got flustered when she got compliments, even if they were ones she's heard a dozen times over. "Ah, well, just doing what I was made to do, it's… nothing impressive."

"Nonsense! I'm doin' what I was made ta do too, an' I don't have anywhere near tha amount o' finesse! 'sides, yer probably tha hardest worker out o' us all; startin' as soon as this lil game is up an' not finishin' til that bell rings fer tha day ta end! It's incredible lass, impressive!"

Chica couldn't help a giggle as she covered her face to hide the blush that had began to grow. Foxy always was the kind of guy that seemed to give the most genuine of compliments, with the way he says it so compassionately. Foxy had since smiled at the woman's reactions; her laughs were rare and her giggles scarce, so whenever he managed to elicit one from her, he couldn't help but feel proud.

After a few minutes of casual banter as they waited for the dough to finish up, Chica pressed her finger into the cloth to see it cave in a little. With that, she nodded to herself as she took the cloth off; scrunching it up and putting it to the side. She pulled one of the balls off and placed it on the pizza pan that now rested where the bowls once were. "Alright, put the rest of these in the fridge, please."

Foxy did so, picking up the plate and maneuvering around Chica to avoid impeding her work. He ended up grunting slightly in frustration, not seeing an immediate opening to place the plate in, but managed by pushing some bottles to the back. While he did that, Chica took the rolling pin and began to flatten the ball of dough out. After a couple of rolls, she finished up the job with her hands, pressing down on the edges to smooth it all out.

"And now for the fun part. Ah, could you turn the oven on? Set it to 400."

"Ye trust me that much with it?" Foxy chuckled out, jaunting himself to the oven. He pressed the bake button, the pressed the up arrow until the number read 400.

"You're a big boy now, I think you can handle some buttons," Chica said nonchalantly, taking the lid off the sauce and pouring a decent amount in the middle. With a spoon, she smoothed the sauce over the dough until it was covered to her liking, tracing the edges to even it out.

Foxy came back over to the table, picking up the one of the bags of shredded cheese and opening it up. He watched Chica do her work, carefully running the spoon over the dough so that no one section of the pizza had more sauce than the other. Once she was satisfied, she placed the spoon down and picked up the other bag, signalling it was time for the cheese.

The two of them scooped up handfuls of the yellow and white cheeses, sprinkling it over the red sauce. Foxy was far more hasty in his approach, not being as meticulous as Chica was with her distribution. But Chica kept quiet, having to force back a whine that was wanting to spill out so Foxy could have his fun. When the pizza was properly cheesed enough, Chica gently ran her hands over it to make sure it was all evened out, completely covering the tomato sauce.

With that, she brushed her hands off and took two containers, pushing them towards Foxy. "I'll do the ham and bacon, you do the pineapple and banana peppers. Try to make sure they're all spaced apart the same, so no one piece has more of one topping than the other."

"Aye aye, lass!" Foxy said, taking off the first lid to see what was housed within. He didn't recognized it as the small cubes that would be pineapple, so this must've been banana peppers. Picking up the container, he put it close to his face and sniffed just for the hell of it. He flinched rather hard at the rather strong, spicy fumes the small yellow strands held.

"Yipes, certainly packs a punch, don't they?" Foxy sat down the container and put his hand into it, taking out a handful of the damp substance. With his other hand, he took one pepper at a time and laid it on the pizza.

"Actually has a much more mild taste to it than smell would imply," Chica said as she carefully placed the pieces of bacon on the pizza. It was a much slower approach than just scattering it on like most people did, but she had a certain way she made her pizzas and never liked to stray far from it.

"Hmm…" Foxy hummed to himself. Looking at the one piece that he held in between his fingers, instead of putting it on the pizza like he planned to, he placed it in his mouth and chewed. His face scrunched up at the rather bizarre taste the pepper had, being nothing like anything else he had tried before. He smacked his lips together and swallowed it, rubbing his tongue against one tooth to get out a piece that was stuck. "Not sure if I like it or not. It's _weird_, that's fer sure."

"Like I said, I think it just clashes too badly with the savory taste to be any good. But other people like it, so eh. Guess it's still more appealing than anchovies, though."

"Hey now, anchovies are good! Can't beat that saltiness, haha!" Foxy continued with his topping process, placing each strip of pepper a good few inches apart.

"That saltiness is unbearable, I don't get how you like it so much. It's like eating salt water, it's just… _bleh_."

Foxy shrugged and stayed quiet at that, not looking offended as he hummed to himself. The two kept working on the pizza until it was properly covered up, each corner having a lovely balance of the four toppings on it. With that, the oven beeped to signify it was at the right temperature.

"Alright, and the final part; the cooking," Chica carefully picked up the pan and held it steady so no toppings would drop off. Using her free hand, she opened up the oven and placed the pizza inside, then closed it up. "Should be ready in eight minutes or so."

Foxy nodded excitedly at that, closing up the containers once more. He couldn't wait to see the lad's face.

—

Mike tapped his fingers on the tablet's screen, feeling antsy at just how everything seemed to be going so far. It had been over thirty minutes since the game started, but everything seemed so oddly calm for what was supposedly the hardest night of the week. Neither Bonnie nor Chica had gotten off the stage, and the curtain to Pirate Cove remained closed.

Not only that, but he couldn't help but notice that the kitchen camera flat out didn't seem to work now. It no longer would bring up the message saying "Camera Disabled, Audio Only," and instead was just a solid black screen with not even the record button showing. It unnerved him a little, knowing now he couldn't check that room whenever he couldn't locate Chica; but he guessed that if he couldn't find her anywhere else, that would narrow it down quick enough.

Mike merely sat in his chair, occasionally turning on the tablet to see if any of the animatronics had moved. After some time had passed, Mike couldn't help but notice a smell that seemed to form. It wasn't very strong, but there was definitely a distinct aroma to it; one that he recognized as pizza. Feeling confused, he unconsciously turned the tablet on to see if there was anything happening in the kitchen, only to remember as soon as he saw the blank screen that it wasn't working.

He frowned at that, wondering if there was possibly something bad happening in the kitchen. Surely they wouldn't just leave the oven on, would they? Either that or he wondered if this was another possible hallucination, one of those very rare instances where he thought he smelt something that wasn't really there. Usually when he experienced olfactory ones, they would smell like either absolute shit or, bizarrely, of too-strong perfume; never of anything quite so basic as pizza.

Whatever the case was, he certainly knew he wasn't going to leave this room to check. If the place was indeed on fire, he supposed he would see it spread quick enough for him to react; and he would assume the animatronics would be far more concerned about the fire than they would be of nabbing him. If it was just another hallucination, Mike would just shrug it off; it wasn't a bad odor at all, and frankly the smell-based ones he experienced never really did much of anything other than confuse him for a while.

With that, Mike turned the camera back over to the show stage as he continued with his shift. Hopefully this smell wouldn't make him too hungry.

—

Chica puts on a pair of oven gloves, going over to the oven and opening it up. She examines the pizza a moment before deciding it's cooked enough, then reaches in and pulls it out. Foxy stands a good distance away so as to not block her path with the searing pan, or to cause a trip and make their hard work go to waste. With a bit of humming out in discomfort, Chica quickly steps to the table and sets the pizza down.

"Alright, just needs to cool now and it'll be done. I'd say give it ten minutes," Chica said as she took one of the gloves off, setting it to the side as she got the pizza cutter.

Foxy walked over to the table and examined the newly baked pizza. The cheeses had melted spectacularly, made even more apparent by how it stuck to the cutter in strings. Each topping had baked neatly into the cheese, caving in so no one piece would come loose from movement. Chica carefully measured each piece she cut, making sure to get as close to even as she possibly could.

"Well, no surprise here, it looks great Chica! I'm sure tha lad'll love it; hell, I'm already in love with it meself, haha!" Foxy said joyfully, having to resist the incredible urge to already take a slice. "_Mike should be tha one who gets tha first slice; it's his pizza, after all_," he thought to himself, humming as he tapped his fingers to the table.

Chica could feel another smile bubble up, and with that she tried to hide her face out of embarrassment. She always felt nervous to smile, even around the people she practically knew as family; it seemed silly, but that's just how she acted. But none of them would question it, and none of them would try to change it; Chica's just being Chica, after all.

"Well, I can't take all the credit now, can I? You helped with topping this thing, and turning on the oven so it could cook," Chica replied as she finished up her precision cutting, satisfied at her results.

"Bah, turnin' on tha oven's hardly somethin' ta get credit fer! An' ye made sure tha toppin's were all in proper place, so they'd get cooked in thoroughly! Ye had ta rearrange tha mess I did cause I hadn't tha foggiest on how ta actually top these without o'erloadin' it, ye really did all tha work lass."

Chica shook her head, taking the pizza cutter over to the sink to wash it off. "You helped though, no matter how little, so we can safely say we both cooked the pizza. Is that fair to you, captain?"

"Well, as long as ye say yer tha one ta make it so masterfully at tha end o' it! I can just be tha lil scamp who made a mess, haha!" Foxy went over to the door now. "I think I'm gonna go get tha lad; probably'll still be a while fer tha thing ta cool, but I'm just so blasted excited, ye know? Ye think ye could carry tha pizza out once it's cool?"

Chica froze at that, ceasing her actions of scrubbing the cutter clean. She simply stared at the running water now, scared to even give an answer. She was so bad with people, even if it was just a simple delivery she wasn't sure she would be able to do it.

"Lass?" Foxy said, his face softening a bit in concern at her lack of response.

Chica blinked a little, then shook her head as she finally answered, "I don't… think I could. I-I know you said he's a pretty nice guy, but I just…"

"Hey now, that's all I need ta hear. Don't need ta go explainin' yerself, if yer not comfortable in doin' it then ye shouldn't do it. I'll handle bringin' tha pizza out then. Sorta still want ta keep it surprisin' fer tha lad though, so got a bit o' an idea ta keep it that way."

Chica simply stayed quiet, humming to signify she was listening.

"Ye stay in tha kitchen so ye don't have ta have a run in with Mike; once tha time has passed, I'll go ta tha door an' knock on it, ta show I'm ready. With that, ye just hand me tha pizza through tha door an' I'll do all tha rest! That sound good ta ye lass?"

Chica nodded at that, turning the water off and tearing a paper towel to dry the cutter off. "I can handle that, yeah. I'll… wait until you're done with him to come out then. Maybe make some more dough while I'm in here. Or something."

"Alrighty! I'll be off then, see ye in a few matey!" Foxy smiled, waving goodbye as he exited the kitchen.

—

Mike furrowed his brow as he once again checked Pirate Cove, still seeing no sign of the fox animatronic. It had been nearly an hour now and still nothing had happened. Foxy hadn't even so much as peak out yet, and usually he was looking at the camera within a good twenty minutes of his shift.

He couldn't help but feel uncomfortable, worrying at the idea that this was all a trap to get him bored so he wouldn't pay attention to when they did get active. He flipped back to the show stage, and still the three animatronics were present on it. He scratched at his neck, a nervous twitch for his growing anxiety.

Though he had no real reason to switch over to another room, he couldn't help himself but switch to the backroom as if Bonnie were active. When he did, it took him a moment to realize what was up, and when he did he felt his heart pick up pace. All of the parts in the room seemed to be staring right at him, even the endoskeleton that sat on the table was up straight and glaring.

Mike tried to flip away from the room, to get away from the unwavering glances that the eyeless objects all had, but for some reason the camera was stuck. He would tap on one of the cameras and nothing would happen, the tablet being unresponsive. Mike swallowed hard, he tried at this point to power the screen down but even then the button did nothing. He pressed it rapidly, tried holding it down, doing everything he could to make the stares stop.

In his quickly growing panic, he didn't even hear the footsteps or tapping coming from the right side of the office. "Heya Mike!" the pirate replied happily, a giant smile plastered on his face.

Mike yelped and tossed the tablet over at the intruding force, hitting the android right in the chest before clattering down to the floor. Foxy's smiles falters a little at that, his stare going down to look at the chucked equipment. The he snorts before letting out a laugh. "Well, that's one way ta say hello, inn't it?"

The security guard blinks before he realizes what just happened. When he finally does, he groans and smacks himself in the face, feeling like a proper idiot at his once again improper reaction. "Oh god damn, I just… shit, sorry man, the tablet was freaking out and I got too caught up into it to notice you come."

Foxy squatted down and picked the tablet up, the screen now being dark but luckily not a crack had formed from the fall. "What seems ta be tha problem with it?"

"Oh, it was like, frozen or some shit. Screen wouldn't power off if I pressed the button, wouldn't switch to another camera when I tried to press it. It sorta reminds me of my phone when it sometimes gets too much info at once."

Foxy pressed the little button at the top of the tablet, causing the screen to power back on. The camera's were now on the supply closet and not on the backroom. Foxy pressed each of the camera sections to see if any were unresponsive, but each camera—sans the kitchen one, as it was still unplugged—flipped on without a hitch. Not only that, but the backroom was back to its original state; the heads turned away and the skeleton leaning over slightly.

"Seems ta be workin' now, maybe it had a hiccup. Sometimes does that, what with it bein' off-brand tech an' all that," Foxy sat the tablet on the desk, then clapped his hands. "Well, pack yer stuff up, we're goin' on a trip matey! Got a surprise fer ye, but ye gotta join me in tha dining area ta get it, haha!"

Mike's brow furrowed at that, looking a little confused. "Huh? What of?"

"Well now, it ain't no fun ta just tell ye now, is it? Com'on, I'll lead ye again like last time," the pirate's smile was absolutely radiant, his hand extended towards the man.

Mike looked at the hand and contemplated it for a moment. He sort of did want to be guided again, feel Foxy's warm hand over his own, but he actually had his flashlight back in order now. He felt like it would be too dishonest of a move if he just acted like he still had no means to navigate. "Ah, actually, I have my flashlight back now. So I could use it instead. Not bother you with the walking backwards and all that."

Foxy blew out some air, making an exasperated noise. "Nonsense, ain't no trouble at all. But if ye want ta use it instead, well that's fine by me!" he withdrew his hand back to his side, but kept his smile steady so as to not cause discouragement. He wasn't too sure why, but the man's denial at his offer sort of made him… disappointed, he supposed was the best way of putting it.

Mike reached over for his bag, pulling it into his lap and opening it up. He stuck his hand in it to where he thought he put the flashlight, but instead was met with an empty pocket. He scrunched his face up again, trying to rummage around in the bag's bottom to see if maybe he just threw it in there again, but still had no luck with finding it.

"Oh damn it, bag ate it again. Give me a sec," he said as he scooted up his chair to the desk, beginning to pull stuff out of his bag so he could find where the flashlight wandered off to.

"Again eh? Maybe ye need ta feed it," Foxy chuckled out, not able to resist a bad joke as he leaned himself against the desk.

"Oh trust me, this fucker eats enough shit as is," Mike said, taking out a bottle that was in his bag and setting it on the desk. He didn't give it a proper look, and assumed from the clear liquid inside that it was the bottle of water he brought with him.

Curious at what Mike pulled out, Foxy picks it up and gives it a read. He looks casual at first, reading the first line, "CleanStream." But then he gets to the middle, which causes him to react like a child and snort loudly, holding back laughter; "Natural Anal Lube."

Mike looks up when he hears the snort, seeing Foxy hold the bottle with a very immature smile on his face. It's then that he realizes what the bottle actually is. Making a loud, embarrassed noise, he gets out of his and quickly swipes it away from the pirate. "NooooOOOO FUCK," he all but shouts in a very squeaky voice, his face completely flushed.

At this reaction, Foxy no longer could hold back his laughter as he howled out, doubling over as he wheezes.

"Aaaaah no, stop it!" Mike whines out as he covers his face, completely flustered at his blunder. He always had a bad feeling that one day he would fuck up and someone who shouldn't know would find out he just carried lube on him, but _damn_, he wasn't expecting it to happen here of all places.

Foxy's laughter gets gaspy, as he tries to get it in more control but failing spectacularly. As he goes on, Mike gets back into his chair and promptly returns the lube back to the bag, then curls up on himself out of sheer embarrassment. He was a grown ass man, sex was to be expected, but damn if he couldn't help but feel like a teen whose parents just found his stash of porn.

After a few more gasps, Foxy finally manages to calm his laughter until it's nothing more than chortles. He looks down at the man hiding in shame, trying to wipe off the all too juvenile look on his face. "Haha, h-hey Mike, ah, sorry 'bout just losing it like that. I just… wasn't expectin' ta read _that_, aha!" he nearly bursts back into laughter just at talking, keeping his lips sealed and his mouth covered to try and stay polite.

Mike just whined more at that, curling up even tighter as his face was cherry-red. In his head he repeating the word "idiot" over and over again.

Foxy took in a shaky breath to try and compose himself. His mood quickly turned somber when he noticed that how he curled up had striking similarities to how he was like yesterday; hiding in fear, terrified of the outside world. His face softened as now he felt like a proper jackass. "Lad, I'm really sorry, that was rude o' me ta act like that," he said with gentle seriousness, not a hint of laughter or mockery to his voice.

Mike simply made another noise, still too embarrassed to uncover his face.

Foxy wasn't sure what to do now. To him, he felt like he absolutely ruined the man's mood; he made fun of all too personal business just with that laugh alone, no doubt he would be upset. In honesty, Mike was simply wishing the earth would swallow him up, flustered beyond belief that he did such a blunder like that. Foxy kept quiet, afraid that he would worsen Mike's mood if he said anything more.

Eventually Mike looks up, his face still rather flushed. Rubbing his cheek, he looks over at the pirate that still stood next to him, and was rather shocked to see the serious look the android had. A face that was contorted with childish glee mere moments ago now looked absolutely solemn. "Ah, are you alright?"

"I'm fine matey, I should be tha one askin' ye. Ye looked all… scared again, I was worried I really overstepped tha line there."

"Huh, did I? I… I wasn't scared, just really embarrassed."

"Again, I'm really sorry lad. I should've just minded me own business, shouldn't have looked at yer things without yer permission."

"No no, you didn't do anything wrong! Hell, I'm the one who acted ridiculous, if someone had just casually pulled out lube in front of me I probably would've lost it too! Acted like a big baby when we're both grown-ass men here."

"But still, I shouldn't have messed with it. Should've just left it where it was an' let ye do yer thing; 'specially since it's somethin' usually meant ta be private an' ye clearly weren't findin' it as funny as I did. I can't apologize enough matey."

Mike shook his head, going into his bag again and this time not pulling stuff out, rummaging around in his continued search for the flashlight. "Honestly, now that I'm not screaming internally, it actually was pretty funny. Someone just nonchalantly pulling lube out, not even paying attention to what they were doing. Make you wonder why they'd even carry something like that on them, doesn't it?"

"Still not any o' my business ta wonder."

Mike hummed at the rather stubborn responses the pirate was giving, being so adamant over something that honestly shouldn't matter that much. "Like I said dude, I'm not upset or anything. Hell, I'm sorta shocked you even knew what this was; no offense to you, but you don't seem like the kind of guy who'd know much about sex."

Foxy blinked, then snorted once more at the assertion, cracking a little smile. "Well, sorry ta disappoint ye there, but I'm 'fraid I'm not quite that naive. We're programmed ta know some rather basic adult stuff like that, so as ta not accidentally bring it up in front o' kiddies."

"Ah makes sense," Mike said, moving around some more stuff. After a bit more rearranging, Mike finally found the flashlight at the bottom left-hand corner of the bag, next to one of his CDs. With that, he tugged on the little chain attached to it and pulled it out. "Alright, found it!" he exclaimed, setting it on the desk so he could put up the few things he pulled out.

"So… yer not mad at me?" Foxy couldn't help but question, still feeling guilt at what he did.

"What? Oh no, course not! It's just a silly little thing dude, worst I got was flustered! No worries man!" Mike zipped up his bag once it was all packed once more, picking up his flashlight and getting out of his seat. "Well, let's see this surprise you have for me then!" he smiled, clicking the button to turn the flashlight on and shining it on the android's chest.

Foxy returned the smile, relieved that the lad didn't seem hurt after all. "Follow me then, just down tha hall!"

Mike nodded as the two of them left the room.

—

"Alright, just have a seat anywhere ye like an' I'll get it shortly!" Foxy called out, running to the light switch and flipping it on.

Mike clicked the button to turn the flashlight off, looking around the area for a good enough spot. He decided on sitting at the edge of the fifth table, as he liked to gravitate towards the middle of the room. Mike inhaled deeply, he swore the smell of pizza was even stronger now. Was the surprise a pizza then, or was his hallucination just getting more vivid now?

Mike looked at the stage that stood at the edge of the room. On it, the three animatronics still stood steady on it, looking away towards the door. He turned himself around to see where Foxy was, and saw that he was standing by the kitchen door; he looked like he was talking to someone, but he wasn't sure.

When he turned around, he jumped when he noticed that Freddy had turned around from his spot, staring straight at him. Despite the fact the eyes were plastic and lacking emotions, he couldn't help but feel like they were glaring at him, seething with rage. He swallowed at this, trying to avert his gaze away from the animatronic bear, but having an impending sense of doom of something bad happening.

Mike was simply staring at the wall now, trying to zone out enough so as to not think about the animatronics coming after him. After all, he was with Foxy, and Foxy said nothing bad would happen as long as he's around. But still, that bear…

A metallic sliding noise was heard on the table, causing Mike to look over. On the table now stood a special Hawaiian pizza, cooled off to a nice temperature. "Tada!" Foxy exclaimed, smiling brightly as he sat himself down across from the man.

Mike blinked, his mouth slightly agape at that. So it _was_ pizza he was smelling, not a hallucination this time. And not only that, it was his favorite kind; the kind he almost never got because his brother wouldn't stomach it. "Woah, holy shit dude, you made me a pizza?"

"Well, Chica did most o' tha work really. I just had tha idea an' she helped bring it ta life. I'm no good at cookin', heh," Foxy said, rubbing the back of his head. "I really hope I got tha toppings right, I thought I did but I've sorta been havin' doubts since Chica said she thought it was a poor combination. It _was_ banana peppers, right?"

"Yup, this looks right! Hawaiian pizza with bacon and banana peppers! From the sounds of it, I guess she's not a fan either. Her and Ronnie would probably get along," Mike said, taking a piece off the pan. The cheese was very stringy, stretching out as the piece was removed; a good sign of a well-made pizza.

"Ronnie?"

"My brother."

"Ah."

Mike took a bite out of the pizza, and hummed out when his tastebuds tasted a particularly strong kick of the banana pepper. He always did like them for their mildness, having just enough spice to them to not make his tongue hurt horribly. Not only that, but the cheese was amazing; a wonderful blend of cheddar and mozzarella, so that the taste wouldn't just consist of one kind.

"Mmm, holy shit man, I don't remember the pizzas here being this good when I was a kid! Maybe I was just too young to notice back then, but _damn,_" Mike said after he swallowed his first bite, taking another one immediately afterwards and getting the wonderful sweetness of the pineapple.

"Haha, well Chica's pizzas always seem ta be great! She makes tha dough herself, an' she knows just how ta spread tha toppings ta give tha best taste! That an' she constantly monitors it while it cooks, so tha cheese doesn't burn. She really knows how ta cook up a pizza, she's probably tha biggest reason we've lasted as long as we did."

Mike nodded at that, swallowing once more. "You not gonna get a piece?"

"Ah, well, it's yer pizza matey."

"Hell dude, I wish I could eat a whole pizza. Come on, I'll live without a slice or two! Unless you're not a fan of it either?"

"Honestly I've never had a pizza with this combo o' ingredients before; mostly just stick ta pepperoni an' anchovies. Not sure if I'll like it, an' considerin' ye haven't really heard good feedback from other's 'bout it, I'm sorta worried 'bout addin' insult ta injury."

"Nah dude, it's fine! You'll never find out if you just sit there and think what you might like! Besides, everyone has different tastes; not like I'm gonna get all heartbroken if you say you're not a fan of it."

Foxy gave a light chuckle and nodded, "Alright, fair enough. If I do like it though, I promise I won't eat no more than two. Still yer pizza, after all," with that, he took a slice of his own, pulling the cheese strings that formed and laying it atop the slice.

"Why did you make me a pizza anyway? Seems like way too nice of a thing to do. Like I'm not complaining or anything, I'm just really shocked, is all."

"Like I said, Chica was tha one who made it."

"You know what I mean."

"Right. Ah, well, I just thought it'd be a nice thing ta do! Ye sorta had a rough time yesterday, so I thought that maybe ye'd like a lil surprise ta make yer night! Can't really do this more than once though, sad ta say, but I'm amazed I managed ta convince Freddy ta let me do this even once," Foxy took a bite of the pizza once he finished his explanation, getting an immediate taste of ham and bacon.

Mike blinked at that, and couldn't help but form a smile around the bite he took.

"Oh holy shit, pizza! Sign me up for a slice!" a new voice joined in on the conversation. To Foxy's left, Bonnie had walked into view; outside of their suit and looking quite eager.

"Hey now, who said ye could crash tha party?" Foxy joshed, smiling as his friend came over to join.

"I did, just now. So whatcha two eating?" Bonnie said as they sat themself down next to the pirate.

"Hawaiian pizza! Really damn good, it'd be a crime if I said you couldn't have a slice!" Mike beamed, taking another bite and getting a combo of bacon and pineapple.

Bonnie looked at the pizza, then frowned slightly when they noticed the ingredients. "Ah, I'm… not a meat eater. Just don't think it feels right to eat other creatures."

"Well pick 'em off an' hand 'em ta me then! Ye know I love me some good meat!" Foxy said, holding his free hand out.

"Ah, alright, sure!" Bonnie took a slice of pizza off of the pan, then picked off each piece of bacon and ham that adorned the slice, putting them in Foxy's outstretched hand. Once they were all off, Foxy tossed his hand to his mouth and ate all the pieces at once.

The three of them chatted casually as they ate, talking happily amongst one another. Foxy talked about how he received a twenty dollar tip from one customer, which ultimately was what made the pizza idea successful from the start. Bonnie laughed about how one kid decided to try and take their spot as the greeter before their mom called them off to their table. Mike simply stayed quiet, not really having any sort of grand story to tell.

As they talked, harsh stomps could be heard resounding from the room. Looking over, they saw the presence of the animatronic bear, walking off towards a door that stood opposite from the back room. Mike was confused and a little frightened at first, until Foxy tried to greet the bear.

"Ahoy Freddy! Why not come on out o' there an' join us fer a slice!" the pirate called out happily, hoping that maybe for once the stubborn man would let loose this night and have a more benevolent form of fun.

The bear stopped in his place and turned around, looking at the android first before his glare fell onto Mike. Even with the plastic, lifeless eyes, they still felt so harsh and unwelcoming, full of hatred. He looked like he would rather wring his neck out before even considering being within three feet of the guard. With that, the bear turned himself back around to his trek to the door, then once he made it he opened it up and slammed it loudly behind him.

Foxy frowned deeply at the rather hostile behavior his boss exuded. He thought it was completely unnecessary, being so harsh to someone he never even so much as chatted to before. But he always was like this to the guards, always so aggressive and antagonistic. He wished he would at least give the guy a chance before outright condemning him like that.

"I'm really sorry fer that lad. Freddy… Freddy's just not good with guards fer whatever reason. If he got ta know ye, I'd have no doubts he'd like ye a whole lot. But he's just so stubborn, it's… frustrating, ta say tha least."

Mike swallowed, still feeling the harsh glares burn into his skin; if looks could kill, that one damn well would've mutilated him. He took in a breath and continued with his slice. "Sorta doubt it, but whatever. Guess it's a bit much to wish that everybody liked me."

"It not you dude, Freddy's just got a stick up his ass. Hasn't trusted a single guard since the murders, it's rather ridiculous. Like yeah, the murders were fucking brutal and shit, but that doesn't mean every guard afterwards is gonna be some horrible monster! He just needs to lay off for once, realize there's more to life than petty revenge bullshit," Bonnie took a bite as they spoke, covering their mouth so no stray food particles would spatter out.

Foxy nodded in agreement with that, finishing up his slice. One thing he admired about Bonnie was how they weren't ever hesitant on calling out stuff that seemed silly to them. The pirate wished he had that kind of confidence to speak his mind like that, but he always was worried of saying the wrong thing and hurting someone as a result.

"Ah well, I guess it's sorta understandable. I'd probably be cautious around people like that too, if I was in his position. I wouldn't exactly want to _kill_ people, but hey, maybe that's just me," Mike tried to be casual with it, make light of a serious matter, but he couldn't help the sinking feeling he felt in his gut. He didn't want to ruin the rather nice night with another spell of hopelessness, so he tried to keep it bottled up.

"Erm, why don't we go on 'bout somethin' else? No need ta make our moods go sour just cause o' one grumpy puss," Foxy spoke up, noticing the man's uncomfortable look that he failed to hide.

"Yeah, yeah sounds good. Ah, well, got any more stories to share then?" Mike took another slice of the pizza once he finished up his first slice.

"We've sorta took all the focus already, why don't you talk about yourself dude? Bound to be a lot more interesting than anything we have to say," Bonnie said, pulling off a banana pepper and eating it on its own.

"Uh, not really, no. Like I hardly do much of anything really, I can't even think up any good stories of like, shit I've done in the past. Most exciting thing I can think of right now is, hey, I hatched a shiny Flabébé on my game of Y."

Both of the androids had far off looks to them. Bonnie looked at him as if he just spoke in an entirely different language, and Foxy merely looked confused as to what those words even meant.

"See man, the shit I find interesting is stuff you guys don't have a clue about. It's best that I try not to make it more confusing for you. Besides, I like hearing out what other people do more than I like bragging about my own shit anyway."

"Hey now, I think I'd quite like ta learn more 'bout what ye do, lad! Probably be really interestin' ta find out! Don't put yerself down so quickly matey, yer life isn't as bland as ye think it is!" the pirate gave an encouraging smile, laying his hands to the table.

"Trust me, even I don't find this stuff enticing. There's really not much to say dude, not even trying to put myself down. Just saying the truth."

The three decided not to argue much past that; if Mike didn't care to speak up with his own stories, well, that was his own decision to make. Bonnie decided to pipe up and talk about how one of the new waitresses seemed to have some sort of interest in them, as whenever she had free time she would spend it with the android. The two simply listened on with that, Mike eating up his piece and Foxy flipping his eye patch over and off his eye with a finger.

Mike's attention was eventually stolen away by the actions of the pirate, going from giving it a side glance to full on looking at the android. It was such a small action, but somehow it managed to catch his eye quite strongly.

Foxy soon could feel the stares on him, so he turned his head around from staring at Bonnie's storytelling to looking at the man that sat in front of him. "Hm?"

"Oh, uh, nothing. Was just looking at your eye patch thing. Ah, this is probably gonna be a really stupid question, but could I ask why you wear it? You have like, both of your eyes, so it seems really pointless to have."

Foxy smiled and left his eye patch down over his eye this go around. "Oh well, us pirates don't just wear these if we lose an eye! That's actually a really old myth, brought up cause people thought it was so bizarre ta wear 'em! In actuality-"

"Oh lord, you just opened up the floodgates now, brace yourself," Bonnie teased out, nibbling on the crust of their slice.

Foxy blinked at that statement, before he shrugged and went on, "In actuality, us pirates wear 'em in order so one o' our eyes would always be adjusted ta tha dark when we have ta go below deck! So that way we wouldn't have ta wait fer our eyes ta get used ta tha darkness; we'd have one eye covered all tha time above deck, an' when we went below we took it off an' switched it ta tha other eye!"

Foxy was the kind of man who could talk for hours about pirate trivia. All you had to do was mention the word, and it would get the ball moving for him to info dump. As a result, even as the rather simple question was answered, Foxy couldn't help but go on and on about different facts about the pirate's life; seamlessly going from one topic to another.

Mike was honestly shocked at just how much the android spoke. He had expected a short answer, but instead he was now being told about the legacy of Ching Shih, one of the greatest pirates to ever grace the seas. Bonnie was trying their best to hold back laughter, knowing all to well about how Foxy would delve so deeply into the topic if no one tried to stop him, but couldn't resist just letting him go on.

Mike simply listened on, not wanting to be rude at the android's obvious excitement. He tried to listen to it, but admittedly the topic was just something that couldn't grab his interest, so the words quickly blurred together before he knew it. His mind had wandered off to other things, like how his slice had a rather large chunk of pineapple on it, and how the pirate's mouth looked tauntingly like a goal right now.

He smirked horribly to himself, knowing full well that it was a bad idea. But he couldn't resist it one bit, taking the chunk off and aiming it to throw when Foxy's mouth was opened enough. The android wasn't even paying any attention to what the man was doing, as he was simply so enthralled with his info dumping that the world was a non-existent force to him. But Bonnie noticed, and quickly a smile formed on their lips as they nodded eagerly in encouragement.

Mike reared his hand up for the shot, then gave his fingers a flick as he sent the pineapple flying. It didn't make to Foxy's lips however; instead it hit right dab on the tip of his nose, sticking onto it due to the grease of the cheese. Mike snorted hard, having a happy "oh shit" look on his face at what he just did; not really concerned, but still surprised he even hit him at all.

Foxy jumped a little when he felt the cube hit him, bringing him out of his thoughts. Crossing his eyes, he looked at the chunk that now sat proudly on his nose; even as he wiggled it, it stayed firmly in place. "Tha hell?" he said in a baffled voice, reaching up and taking the chunk off.

Mike blew out an airy laugh from in between his lips, no longer able to keep his composure.

"I'm not sure if that was a bullseye or not, but damn that was beautiful!" Bonnie exclaimed, clapping their hands and laughing just as hard. It was such a silly thing, it shouldn't have amused them as much as it did, but damn if it did.

Foxy blinked, examining the pineapple in between his fingers. He still wasn't entirely sure what happened, but he could guess well enough from the other two's reactions that it was something to do with them. And he couldn't help but join in with their merriment, laughing along with them and popping the chunk into his mouth.

"Well, someone certainly has aim, don't they?" he teased, giving a playful look to the guard in front of him.

Mike snorted in between his laughs, trying to compose himself to answer, but couldn't really do much more than shake his head. He felt like a proper child right now and he loved every bit of it. "N-No, not really. Was _way_ off my mark, haha!" he finally managed to reply with.

"Could've fooled me, that hit pretty spot on matey, I'm impressed!" Foxy gave one more chuckle before he rested his arms underneath him. "Well, guess that's what I deserve fer goin' off 'gain. Sorry 'bout that lad, I'm just… well, really passionate about pirate history. Didn't mean ta bore ye there."

Mike cleared his throat, stopping his giggles so he could actually talk. "Nah dude, it's fine. Just couldn't resist myself, I'm a literal two-year-old like that. It's pretty cool how much you know though, wish I was that involved with something!"

Foxy smiled warmly at the compliment, feeling a sense of pride hearing it come from the man's mouth.

The three continued on with the chatter and eating, having fun with what time they had together.

—

Seething. That was the best way to describe Freddy's current state of mind, and it wasn't even of his own.

In his head pounded violent thoughts, thoughts of bursting out of the door that kept him barricaded away from the outside world. Of grabbing the man by the neck and stuffing that pizza down his throat; make him choke, make him _bleed_.

And even after all those years of dealing with such wicked thoughts, it still scared him to experience it. To feel his false blood boil as his head screamed over and over, "_Kill them, don't let them get away!_" The thought that wasn't his own.

He had heard many of these thoughts. But this night was particularly loud and hectic, just like he expected. There was crying, a sense of betrayal at how his "friend" could treat an enemy so well. Could treat a murderer so well. But he wasn't a murderer, he was just a guy hired to do a death wish. He knew this, but it wasn't enough.

The thoughts weren't of his own.

Angrily he kept himself away from the door, doing his best to isolate himself so as to not lash out and cause more harm than usual.

—

"Augh, holy shit man, I don't think I could eat anymore," Mike said, putting down the crust to his fourth slice. He had eaten a lot more than he thought he would be able to, but still the pizza was left half-eaten, six slices remaining.

He felt bad that he wasn't able to eat it all at once, but he did warn the pirate he was awful at eating whole pizzas. Despite that, both Bonnie and Foxy refused to eat more than one slice, insisting that it was his pizza and they shouldn't indulge more than they should.

"It's fine lad, probably was a bit o'erkill ta make a large pizza, heh. How 'bout we put away what's left in the fridge, then ye can take it home an' finish it off there once yer shift's o'er with! That way ye's still have tha majority o' it!"

"Ah, sure, sounds good! Though if you guys finish it off, I wouldn't exactly be mad," Mike got up the stretch out his now bloated stomach, groaning as he cracked his fingers.

"Well I would be, it still be yer pizza matey," Foxy stood up as well, then looked over at Bonnie. "Could ye put this away fer him, lax? Gotta get tha lad back in business 'fore me time's up."

"Sure, no problemo!" Bonnie joined suit in getting up and picked the pan up. They then locked eyes with Mike and gave a wide grin. "Just try not to forget it dude, we may be adamant about not eating it but the employees probably wouldn't be quite as thoughtful as we are."

"Oh, no, I'll make sure not to! Would really just be discourteous of me to just leave my gift like that, heh."

Bonnie nodded as they walked off towards the kitchen. While they did so, a thought crossed Foxy's head at the last second, which caused him to call out to the android. "Ah, hey, lax! While yer in there, could ye plug tha camera back in? Fergot ta do it meself!"

"Alrighty then, got it covered!" the agender android gave a thumbs up as they disappeared behind the swinging kitchen door.

With that, Foxy ran over to turn the lights back off, and Mike followed close to his person with his flashlight in hand. Once the two were back in the office, Foxy waited once more for Mike to be situated again before he began to say his farewells.

"Ah, hey dude, before you go… uh," Mike could feel sudden nervousness flicker in his stomach, bashfulness at a rather innocent gesture he wished to perform.

"Aye? What is it, lad?" the pirate gave an inquiring look, leaning himself against the doorway.

"Uh, I just uh, wanted to say… thanks again. That uh, that was completely unnecessary, but the fact you did that really… really helped to make my night feel better," Mike tried to avoid eye contact, having trouble finding the right words just to express how grateful he was.

Foxy smiled heartily, humming melodically. "It be no problem lad, glad it made ye happy! Ye'll be comin' tomorrow, right?"

"Ah, yeah, I asked to cover the entire week this go around. So I'll see you then?"

"Sounds like tha plan, matey, I look forward ta it! Remember, check Pirate Cove!" Foxy finished up, giving a wave and a wink.

Mike smiled warmly, rubbing at his content stomach. He wondered how much of it was from the pizza and how much was from happiness.


	7. A Manner of Working

**Alright alright, the long delayed seventh chapter is finally getting posted! You guy's gonna have to thank C0RP0RAL-CLEGG for egging me on and helping getting an idea to finally make this chapter! Big help there, cause I was stuck on what to do next for a long time.**

**Anyway, we're gonna delve a bit more into Mike's life and stuff, so this is gonna be the first instance of NSFW. Sadly though it's not ship NSFW, it's more a casual NSFW instance. But hell, still wanted to write it, but I get if it's not your cup of tea! Just letting you know there will be ship NSFW in the future, but it's going to be towards the end, so… have patience, okay mates? :D**

**Gotta say right now, my interest in FNaF is severely dwindling. Like I haven't even done anything with the third game yet, I'm just that disinterested. But I do want to finish this fanfic no matter what, since I hate leaving things incomplete and this is the farthest I've ever gotten with writing.**

**So he's to hoping for some good new chapters! Admittedly after this, I'm once more stuck on what to write, since some ideas I feel are a bit too quick to write about, but I'm open for suggestions and I'll be talking with my friend some more to help spring ideas. He's really helped inspire a lot of the future writing, so he's been a really big help to keeping this thing alive.**

**Anyway, well, let's get to it!**

**Warning(s): NSFW - Mention/Sexual [Section(s) Four and Five]**

* * *

><p>Mike whistled as he traced a finger on the rim of the car. It was of a 1964 Chevrolet Impala, which the last time he saw was on the verge of breaking apart from all the rust and dirt within. But now it looked practically new; if it weren't for the obvious design that old cars like this had, one would've thought it was made just a few years ago.<p>

"Damn man, you really brought this thing up to snuff. I thought for sure this was gonna be a lost cause of a car, but holy shit you worked your magic!" Mike admired, enjoying the lovely coat of sky blue paint that the once tattered yellow car now adorned.

Derrick smiled as he leaned against the side of it, careful not to scratch his handy-work while feeling a sense of pride at the compliment. "No job's too much for The Dare, haha," he laughed, playing a little with the radio antennae. "No, but really, this baby was quite the challenge. There was practically an ecosystem growing underneath it due to how it stayed in one place for so long; almost felt guilty having to clean up the underside of all the growth. But looking at this baby now, I think it was a good decision."

"I'd say man, this car's pretty dang sexy now. Screams the 60s as if it never ended," Mike said, looking in the window to see a pair of authentic furry dice hanging off the rear-view mirror.

"Well thanks. Know it's gotta mean something coming from you since you usually don't care fuck all about cars," Derrick teased, sticking his tongue out lightly. He opened up the door to the driver's side, going a little into the car to get it cranked up. It took a moment of fiddling with his ever-growing keyring to find the right key for this car, but he found it quick enough; the key labeled with a sky blue strip around the handle. With that, he revved up the engine, making it purr and roar loudly.

Mike flinched at the sudden noise, not expecting to hear it be so loud after it had barely stuttered the last time he'd seen it. He wasn't sure if that was an improvement or not, but he guessed it probably was since cars back then weren't exactly made to be as quiet as cars now-a-days. With his ears covered, he watched as his friend continued with the revving, a large smile plastered to his face.

After a bit, Derrick once more popped his head out of the side of the car to gesture at Mike to get in the car, since it wouldn't do any good yelling with his ears covered like that. At that little motion, Mike nodded and got himself into the car quick enough; partly because of the sound and partially because the cold was starting to get to him.

Once the doors were all closed, the inside was surprisingly quiet for how loud the engine was; it was practically a murmur, just audible enough to know it was running. "Now, how's about we take this lovely little lady for a test drive, huh?" Derrick said as he turned on the heat to a comfortable level.

"What, not worried about wearing it out too quickly?" Mike questioned while he adjusted the blowers to power onto him.

"Nonsense, this baby's got so much more of the world to see yet!" Derrick beamed, backing out of his drive way and going down the neighborhood road at a good speed. "And I'm gonna make sure the world has a good look at her too! We both will!"

—

"Man this burger wasn't any good. Never would've thought I'd say a burger was too juicy, but damn it's like they soaked this thing before they served it," Derrick said, wrapping up his burger and returning it to the bag. They had just stopped at the new burger joint they were talking about the other day to give it a try, and so far Derrick was less than impressed.

Mike however was quite enjoying his rib sandwich, licking his lips of the barbeque that stained his face. "I don't get how we ordered from the same restaurant then, this sandwich is fantastic! Want a bite?" he said as he attempted to pull a piece off.

"Nah, I think that burger ruined whatever appetite I had. Besides, you like it, so you should eat it all!" Derrick smiled as he started the car again. "Uh hey, you mind if I drive somewhere else before I returned back? I just wanna test this lovely lady some more while you're here; get a bit of a passenger's advice with it to see if the ride feels smooth or not."

Mike shrugged as he reached for a napkin in the bag, feeling the juices of Derrick's half eaten burger and letting out a shudder as a result. "I dunno how good of a test subject I'd be…" he said as he felt around for a dry tissue, "… but I'd be game, sure!"

Derrick smiled at that, putting the car in reverse and taking the car out of the burger place's parking lot. For a while, the two men stayed in silence as Mike simply watch the ways that Derrick would turn. But eventually Derrick spoke up again, clearing his throat to break the quiet air. "Ahem, uh… ya know, I'm… uh, well, I'm sorta glad you answered Ronnie's phone that day instead. I was really worried I had ruined our friendship, so hearing from you that I didn't was such a relief…"

Mike simply watched on as he saw a group of kids walk on the side walk with their Labrador dog. At the response though, he looked back towards his friend with a sort of neutral look, before he shrugged. "Like I said over the phone, I don't blame you for what happened. If you had known that uh, he wasn't afraid to do that kind of thing, I know you wouldn't have recommended him to me. He tricked us both man, badly."

"But still, I… that was such a bad thing Mike, and none of us knew it until it practically got too out of hand. We should've realized something was up, but just… God damn it Louis, just god damn it," he swore out as he made a turn towards a road leading a little bit out of town.

Mike wasn't too sure what Derrick was doing, but decided not to question it right this second since the moment felt inappropriate. He stiffened a little once more at the name, but not as badly as before since the name was uttered in condemnation. With a deep breath, he shook his head. "I don't blame you dude. You just don't expect people to do that kind of thing, yet he damn well did. It felt like a god damn episode of Law and Order or some shit, it just… it didn't feel real, even now I sometimes wonder if it all did happen or not… If it was all just some fucked up nightmare."

As he said that, his hand came to circling around his other wrist, feeling it a little. While there was no traces of any ill effects on the skin anymore, he still remembered when it was blistered and scabbed. When he couldn't hardly move.

Derrick was just quiet at that. He wasn't even too sure what had happened, he only heard little bits and pieces of it. The way Mike was basically abducted and locked up against his will in Louis' house; not allowed to leave, only allowed to call people if Louis was there to monitor. He had no idea how exactly Louis had treated him, what he had done. And he dare not ask, he dare not press his luck to sate a far too inappropriate curiosity. He was grateful enough that Mike wasn't mad at him for introducing the man to him; he didn't want to possibly make it worse.

At the long pause, eventually Mike spoke back up to question where Derrick was going. Derrick just shook his head and said they'd be there soon enough; that it was an old place they used to go to before. He hoped that this place would at least spark some good memories into Mike.

—

"Hey dude, could you do something for me real quick," Derrick asked as he stopped at a car turning.

"Uh, sure?" Mike said, not entirely sure what Derrick was getting at considering they were still in a car.

"Close your eyes for a bit. I'll tell ya when you can open them again, but right now I'd just like for you to close your eyes."

"Uhh… Why?" Mike questioned, confused at the bizarre request.

"I just want to surprise you, is all. Please dude? Promise it's not anything bad," Derrick said as he started the drive again, the car making its turn.

Mike shrugged; it was an innocent enough request, and he supposed a little shut eye wouldn't kill him. Especially since today he got up earlier than he usually did. "Alright then. Just don't get mad at me if I fall asleep," he half-joked as he closed his eyes, leaning his head back.

Derrick smiled gently at that. "Of course not. Shouldn't be too long now."

—

Derrick pulled up onto the cliff side, overlooking a forest of colorful trees below; a sea of orange, yellow and brown. He smiled at the scenery before him, how it seemed like it hadn't even changed after all these years. Still it was a marvelous sight, even during this time of the year where every thing was starting to die. The colors hid away that little depressing fact.

"Alright dude, you can open them now," he said as he put the car in park, looking over at Mike to see his reaction.

At that, Mike finally opened up his eyes. It took quite a lot to keep them closed and not fall asleep, but a few shakes of his head and some joking along with his friend helped him to stay in a conscious state. As his eyes opened up to his surrounding, his expression was blank at first while he processed what he saw. And then it turned to one of shock, eyes a little wide and mouth slightly agape.

"Holy shit, are we…?" he started, but lost the bit of words to finish the sentence.

Derrick did the honors for him. "Sure are. Green Sea pass. Or well, I guess this time of year, Autumn Sea pass would be more fitting. Long time, eh?"

"I'll… I'll say man. We haven't been here since, what, ten years ago?" Mike said, looking over onto the tree leaves that spawned below them.

"Longer than that, but pretty close. Haven't been here since I started seeing Monica. I… sorta missed it here," Derrick said relaxing into his seat as he looked over at Mike. "Remember when we first came here back in high school? We both were stupid and thought we'd skip a day while our parents were out of town, and we came up here with a lot of shit to kill time with."

Mike laughed a little at that. "Yeah. I ended up bringing my dad's old hunting magazines and you brought like every Genesis album released at that time. And we ate whatever that blueberry stuff your mom made the day before was. It was really nice."

Derrick nodded and smiled. "Uh-huh. Uh, and you remember what we… ended up doing, despite all that?"

Mike was quiet, before he let out a little sly smile. "That's when you pulled out the big guns and revealed you stole your dad's porno mags. I'm still amazed he never found out, I would've thought the way he kept them under lock and key, he would've realized they had been moved while he was gone."

Derrick smiled largely at that, glad his friend had remembered that. "Man, you know I would've made that shit looked untouched. He always was over-protective of that garbage, it was some hardcore stuff that you just couldn't get at any daytime store and he was proud of it. I remember we laughed like hell at some of the ridiculous faces the guys made in it."

Mike let out a little burst of laughter as he recalled, remembering one guy in particular who looked like he was constipated and wanted a toilet more than sex. "Haha, yeah man, and how the women looked so bored with that shit. Like seriously, none of them looked impressed, it was hilarious!"

Derrick nodded, laughing along with him. "I dunno why my dad liked it as much as he did, considering the pictures were so bad, but dang if he did…" he took in a deep breath as he decided to unload what he had been wanting to say. "And then we uh, got to the blowjob section. You hah, said something about how it looked more like they were eating than they actually were trying to pleasure the guy…"

"Oh my god yeah, the blow jobs were so bad! Like did you see how one girl looked like she was gagging on it? That shit was nasty man," Mike shuddered at it. "I flat out said I'd probably be able to do a better job than that, and I was only being half serious!"

"Haha, yeah, and I said something like "Oh really? Well prove it, hotshot," or something like that. Cause let me tell you, I had quite a few blowjobs done to me before then, so I knew what was a good one and what was just slurping sounds," Derrick leaned his head to the side, looking over at Mike as the man continued to look out the window. "Damn if you didn't prove yourself right though."

Mike smiled a little at the comment, looking off to the side window as he recalled their little exploit. It seemed so scandalous to do, such a bad idea. But sure enough he had taken Derrick up on the challenge, telling him to get ready as he worked his magic. He never wanted to admit it before then, how he would take phallic items like popsicles and bananas and trace his tongue so gingerly over it as a sort of practice and have an idea as to how it actually would've been like; to pleasure another man like that.

Everything went quiet again, until Derrick spoke up. "Yeah, back then I… I didn't really know why I let that happen. We've always heard shit about how two guys shouldn't do that, so I guess part of me just wanted to rebel and see just what it was like," he let out a little chuckle at his next reply. "But damn, it was a good decision. For someone who'd never did that kinda thing before, you fucking knew where to put your tongue. Maybe they wanted to hide the fact us guys were naturally better at blowjobs or something."

Mike's face was gradually growing redder as the two friends recalled their younger exploits. "Y-Yeah, maybe?" he didn't want to admit what his younger self used to do, as even now he was quite embarrassed at himself.

"Since then our friendship took a different route from the usual. We wouldn't exactly sneak out of school to do more of this, but instead of going straight home like usual, we always seemed to stop by this place…" Derrick said, making sure to be careful with his next few words. "I think you said it best when you said we became Homo Bros. Two guys who did gay stuff together, but otherwise weren't romantically involved. And we never really felt like hiding it either. We'd uh, we'd always sorta teased flirt with each other, calling each other sexy and stuff like that. To our parents, it just seemed a little inappropriate… imagine the looks on their faces if they ever found out about how in-depth it really was today."

Mike nodded at that. The two weren't exactly afraid to hide this behind their parents back; Mike was with his Mom, but at that point his father had divorced and married Eliza, Ronnie's mother, who was a much different woman in comparison. Derrick's parents weren't supportive of gay stuff, but Derrick always was rather defiant of them; they just took the flirting as him trying to piss them off, not as anything to actually "worry" about.

They never did tell either of their parents their friendship was a lot more than hanging out in some fast food joint, looking at women. It never was like that.

"Even when I went to community college, we still would find ways to meet up and do our little shenanigans up here. I would buy some really bad porn magazine, we'd make fun of it, and we'd prove to ourselves we could do better than any of the crap those photographers took. It was always fun, always a blast…"

"… And then you met Monica," Mike said, a little abruptly. He wasn't entirely sure what Derrick was doing, talking about their past exploits like that. Stuff they hadn't done in years, not since Derrick started seeing someone and Mike didn't wish to create possible tension doing this.

"Yeah… not since Monica…" Derrick cleared his throat at this, swallowing a little bit of nervousness down. "Uh, that's… sorta why I brought it up. I uh… I really hope you don't mind, but I… I told her about what we used to do back then."

Mike was a little tense at this, and all he said was a rather harsh "Why?"

Derrick flinched slightly at that, he wasn't expecting that kind of response, but maybe his reasoning for it would help make it sound better. "Because dude, I… Well, I missed our old days. I missed our days of being Homo Bros, how we'd experiment and do all sorts of shit in the back of my cars with only nature as our witness… I missed our little exploits, and thought… well, what if I told Monica about it?"

Mike was quiet at this, his voice still a bit on edge. "What did she say?"

"She said she always knew something was up with us," Derrick said, dead serious. "She said it made sense, we seemed "Way too close" for a couple of dudes who were just friends."

Mike laughed slightly at this. "That obvious, huh?" he said. With that, he took in a breath to ask this. "So she didn't mind?"

"No, surprisingly not. She said she wasn't worried about losing me to you, haha. I told her it was just a really good friend thing you and I did, it wasn't anything serious like what's between her and I… Uh, but that's not really the point I'm wanting to get at here. There's a reason I told her this now and not sooner, Mike."

"I figured. What was it?"

"I uh… fuck, this is gonna sound all sorts of cheesy, forgive me for this," Derrick started, straightening himself out. "To be honest with you, I… I really and truly missed our Homo Bro days. I felt like we grew such a closer connection knowing each other like that, while still feeling open to seeing other people. Like that kind of fun wasn't just limited to intimate people, that two good friends could do it as well and they could still be friends… What I'm uh, what I'm trying to say here is that uh… I'd like to relive those days, Mike. I want to be Homo Bros again, if you're uh… still down for it, of course."

Mike was rather speechless, finally looking back over at Derrick instead of looking out the window. The look he had on his face was so genuine, it he wasn't so off-guard at just how straightforward Derrick was being about this, he would've given a double take. He wasn't sure what to think. He was in much of the same boat, missing their old days where Derrick would take him, talking so filthy to him. "But Monica…?"

"She said she was fine with it; like I said, she said she suspected as much, and she wasn't worried of losing me to you. I uh, I get though if this is a bit much of me to ask again, especially since I did do such a big whoops. But man, I want to make it up to you, and sad to say but my pervy brain's only really thinking about this as a way of compensation. W-What do you say, dude?" Derrick said, holding out a hand towards his friend; eager yet also so nervous for his response.

Mike looked down at the hand, before looking back up at the man. He had a feeling something wasn't quite right, that it didn't sound like Monica at all when he said she was accepting of it. But that part of him was quickly overpowered by a growing joy at the proposition of once more gaining that sort of friendship again. The idea of getting his Homo Bro back.

With that, instead of taking the hand like Derrick had offered, he moved himself in his seat and leaned into Derrick, giving him a deep kiss on the lips. This surprised the man, but there was no resistance in the action; the kiss returned with an equal passion, but breaking just before it could get too heated.

"I'd love to, man," Mike said, a sly smile to his face. "Those were the glory days, after all, right?"

—

Their lips were crashed on top of one another as Derrick's tongue worked his way into his friend's mouth. A hand traced down Mike's side, hooking underneath his pants and underwear as he felt the cheek underneath. Mike moaned into Derrick's lips, feeling the tongue traced along his own, intermingling the spit and passion.

At that, Mike started to grind down on his friend's lap, trying his best to work their clothed groins together. It was torturous at this point, it had been so long since Mike had done something like this and he yearned for it to go faster. To feel the tongue trace upon his flesh, dicks pressed hot against one another in a lovely display of frottage.

Mike had cursed himself for leaving his bag at Derrick's place, not taking it with him when such a moment for it's importance finally came to be. But they would have to make do with non-penetrative sex; it would be a good warm up anyway to getting back in this sort of thing.

His thoughts were cut short by a light nip to his tongue, his friend playfully getting his wandering attention again back to their escapades. Mike lightly batted Derrick's tongue, giggling a little into the kiss as Derrick went lower with his massages.

After a bit, the kiss was broken, a small string of spit connecting their lips as they caught their breath. "Damn, I sure did miss this…" Derrick said, in between breaths as his hand groped his friend's rear, his tongue darting out to break the string that connected them.

Mike nodded in agreement, teeth biting into his lips as he felt the hand kneed his butt. "Fuck dude, you don't know how long it's been since I've done something like this…"

"Oh?" Derrick said, face leaning down to suck at Mike's throat. At the action, Mike let out another delicate noise, his adam's apple bobbing as he felt the teeth gently scrape his skin. With a little plop sound, Derrick disconnected his face from the neck briefly. "Been saving yourself for me, eh?" he said, words hot and purred.

Mike bit his lip further, a hand traveling to the back of Derrick's head to push it into his neck, yearning for more sucks and hickies. His friend complied with the actions, continuing the sucking as he traces circles with his tongue. "I-I guess, I just… fuck," he said, breath caught at a particularly pleasurable suck to his neck. "D-Dudes at a bar just… don't give the same results…"

Derrick smiled into his suck, his hand starting to play with the hem of the pants. He continued with the actions of teasing Mike, pulling slightly down on his pants to cause encouraging moans from the man, but not quite enough to free his growing member of its restraints.

"Derrick, fuck man, please…" Mike begged, his other hand going to fiddling at the zipper of his pants. Derrick stopped it though with his free hand, holding it back while still keeping up with the sucks.

"Ah ah ah, Mikey boy," Derrick said as he unlatched himself from Mike's throat. "I get to do the honors this time." At that, he started to rub against the protected groin, feeling it harden underneath the fabric of the jeans.

Mike hissed a little at that, more teasing to his growing pleasure that he longed to bring to full blast. He bucked slightly into the hand, his own hands now coming to grip Derrick's shoulders to keep himself steady as he thrusted. "I-I don't remember you being such a fucking tease…" he practically growled, looking down at his friend working him through the fabric.

"Well, I gotta savor it, don't I? Been so long after all, haven't seen you squirm since…" Derrick's breath was still so hushed, thick with growing lust as he unzipped the pants and unfastened the button. His hand now worked against the member by the soft cloth of the underwear, shaping his hand around the hardening dick.

Mike took in a breath, mouth open as he watched his friend continue to tease him. He wanted to egg him on more, cover his hand in his own to make him rub harder. But instead he let Derrick do his work, bucking more into the touches.

"Tell me what you want," Derrick said, gradually pumping Mike's dick through his underwear.

"W-What?" Mike breathed out, not quite aware of his surroundings as the pleasure began to grow.

"I said…" Derrick started, his free hand going to press Mike's head close to his face. "Tell me what you want, Mikey boy," he whispered into his ear, breath hot as his tongue traced the outer skin of it.

Mike let out a shuddered moan as he felt that tender whisper caress his eardrums. With a swallow, he ground more into the teasing hand as he wrapped his arms around him. "I want your dick, I want to feel your dick on mine…"

With a proud smile at his accomplishment, Derrick decided now had been enough teasing. "Wish granted then," he said, pushing Mike up a bit so as to get access to his own pants now.

At this, Mike steadied himself up off Derrick's lap with his arms as he watched his friend free his own hardened member. Quickly the sweat pants and underwear slid down, the dick springing forth once it had been freed. Mike swallowed as he looked, he so wished now he had brought his bag. Had brought the lube he always carried so that he could feel that dick press inside him. But outside of him would have to do.

Once Derrick's pants were down a good ways from his crotch, he pushed lightly on Mike to lower him back into his lap. Mike shuddered as he obeyed, feeling the flushed dick press against his still clothed one. With this though, Mike felt Derrick's hands go back to his pants, hooking at the rim as he started to pull down.

"Nice and slow…" Derrick said, working the jeans down as his own member throbbed in anticipation.

"F-Fuck that, come on Derrick, please…" Mike begged out, leaning his head back as gradually his pants lowered.

"Patience, Mike. Promise you, it'll be worth it in the end," he said, a bit of a smile in his voice at his friend's eagerness. He had so missed this, the passion for the moment that only his Homo Bro could give. Soon his hands now once more worked underneath Mike's underwear, playing with his cheeks some more.

Mike let out a little whine at that, feeling the pleasure ebb in intensity, but never getting to a point that he wanted. But he remained quiet, letting his friend do what he wished as his breath became deep in anticipation.

Soon the teasing even got to Derrick. With one last squeeze to the cheeks, Derrick moved his hands up and worked the underwear down. Soon Mike's own tented pleasure came springing forth, practically crying at the freedom as precum tipped the head.

"Ooo, someone's eager, aren't they?" Derrick let out a little retort, looking down at his friend's organ and the dollop of precum that formed. "Wonderful sight," he admired, one hand now going to grip the member; a finger carefully tracing along the head to smear the clear liquid.

Mike let out a hissed moan as now his member was touched with nothing guarding it. He moaned as the finger worked the fluid around the head, having to resist bucking more at the touch. "Fuck, Derrick…"

After a few more stokes, Derrick finally decided now would be good to do well on Mike's desire. With that, he adjusted himself some more to lean a little, making his cock press as well as it could on the cock that sat on top of him. Once they were touching, one hand came down and closed around them, pumping them gently in response.

Mike gasped as their dicks touched, moaning into the rubs as he leaned himself back now; careful to not get too far on the wheel to make the horn honk. He closed his eyes as he indulged himself to his friend working him like that, his cock leaking more precum with each stroke.

"Fuck Mike, your cock is still perfect…" Derrick couldn't help but admire, their fleshed erections pressing so wonderfully against each other as a gradual slicking noise started to sound. "Smooth and flawless…"

"Ahh, fuck…" Mike would've thanked the man for the compliment, but instead was lost at the growing noise that served to increase his arousal.

The pumping continued on, sometimes going faster and sometimes going slower. But all the while it was continued, flesh upon flesh as their pleasure grew.

The other hand that had been gripping at Mike's hip now wandered off once more to his butt, squeezing once more to add to the rubs. Mike ground himself against that hand as best as he could, encouraging it for further actions.

"Mmm, and that rear is still as bubbly as I remember it…" Derrick moaned, giving a light slap to the cheek to feel it vibrate. "Fuck, next time I'm gonna see that thing bounce…"

Mike purred at this, face going now to Derrick's own neck to lick. "That you will, big guy… Fucking bounce on that dick of yours, I bet it still fills me up so completely…"

"Mmm, dirty fucker, I love it," Derrick growled, fingers now going into the crack of Mike's ass to play with his hole. Even if he couldn't penetrate it today, it still needed to have some form of loving. At this thought, his finger began to trace circles as he felt the hole pucker, yearning for the finger to press in. Not today though, Mike's comfort came first over his horniness.

Soon the pumping sped up to a constant, quick speed; the slicking noise only growing louder as their fluids began to mix together. Mike was panting at this, thrusting along with the rubs as his pleasure began to heighten. "Derrick, shit…"

"You gettin' close, bud?" Derrick breathed out, face getting close to Mike's as his breath washed over it. "I am too. Bet you still come first though," he taunted, lips brushing against Mike's parted ones.

"F-Fuck, it doesn't matter, just let me cum…" Mike moaned out, tongue darting out to play with the lips in front of him. He pressed himself further in Derrick's hold, encouraging him to keep going on with the action.

Derrick gave one last sly smile at that as now his pumps grew so much quicker. At this, Mike whimpered out as his cock was worked so wonderfully against his friend's, the noise it made making him so horny he practically wanted to jump on his dick even without lube. But he'd gone through that experience once already, and he knew that. no matter how horny he was, it just wasn't worth it.

"Derrick, o-oh shit, I'm-!" Mike gave a high moan as the pressure in his cock grew and grew, voice high as soon his pleasure peaked. He came hard into his friend's hand, slightly staining his shirt but he didn't care at all.

Derrick purred at this, his pumps now speeding to ridiculous speeds to milk Mike of what he had, and to bring himself to his own climax. Soon he let out a shuddering moan as well, his own fluids mixing so completely with Mike's as their semen became indistinguishable on each other's cocks.

"Fucking knew it," he said, slowing his rubs as both came down from their high. Both of them were panting hard, the caresses of the cocks now of sweet softness and not of fast pleasure.

"Yeah yeah, no surprise, I'm quick to cum," Mike laughed a little, leaning his head into his friend's shoulder as he gave a few last thrusts.

Derrick smiled at this, the hand that was once teasing the man's hole now going to softly running up and down his back. Soon he released their cocks, simply letting them press against one another. "Damn, I missed this…"

"As did I…" Mike said, closing his eyes as he simply relaxed in the hold.

—

Mike swore as he heard the thumping of feet run down the west hall. Quickly he responded with a door close, and not a moment too soon; three pounds sounded out before disappearing again, making him lose 5% power. This had been twice that Foxy had bolted out that night, and while Bonnie didn't seem any worse than usual and Chica hadn't even left the stage yet, the night had been a hectic one. In fact, the first time Foxy bolted, Mike could've sworn he saw the red of the fur just before the door closed.

Yesterday wasn't exactly a cake walk, and in comparison this night probably was still easier that the night before. But the fact he got so close to being caught just an hour into the night made him constantly check on Pirate Cove. He could barely pay attention to Bonnie, and as such had a few frights when he checked the doors to find the giant bunny in place.

He wondered just how many times that night he had called it close.

As Mike once more checked Pirate Cove to see the fox staring behind the corner, he felt a little twitch of something on his skin. Like an awkward itch, but something about it felt off. He went to scratch his arm, but it didn't seem to do any good to relieve the feeling.

With this, he scratched more as he kept his focus on the fox animatronic, his eyes unwavering from the screen as he watched him twitch ever so slightly in place. The itch just didn't seem to stop, and at this Mike finally looked up to see what on earth was causing such an strange feeling. A spider bite perhaps?

But he went pale when he saw that an apparition was now next to him, holding on to the bit of skin that felt so weird. Mike jumped back, trying to get away from the white figure, but his arm stayed firmly in place in the figure's hold.

Mike swallowed hard, looking around rather frantically, trying to pull his arm away, but it was no good. In fact the apparition was now tugging at his arm, trying to pull him towards it. Mike very nearly felt like screaming again, trying to resist so badly what the strange spirit was doing.

"_Stop_," sounded in his head. "_Stop, stop_," repeated over and over as the apparition continued to pull. Mike thought for sure this was his own thoughts begging for this experience to end, but for some reason his body reacted strangely to the words. Each time a "stop" was mentioned, his body resisted less and less at the tugs, letting him get pulled more by the spirit. Towards the open door.

Mike damn well wanted to scream now, but now his voice seemed to have been swallowed up; he couldn't hardly wheeze, let alone scream out for help. The apparition continued the tugging, getting Mike closer and closer to the right door as his chair rolled him towards the darkness.

"_Stop, stop, stop,_" over and over again. Soon he was practically face to face with the blackness outside of his safety, and with that he finally managed out a screech. But not something that sounded like his.

It was something that sounded like the first night of the job, when Foxy burst through the side. Like on the phone that screamed and screamed. He wasn't screaming, but something was.

The scream though seemed to have been enough to finally break Mike out of the trance like state, causing his free hand to quickly spring up to close the door just as he was about to be pulled out. The apparition was crushed in the doorway, breaking into a mess of smoke as the door came slamming down, and Mike's body and chair bounced against the closed door.

As soon as that was done, the screaming died out until it was nothing but a gust of air. Mike shuddered at that, his breath caught in his throat as he simply stared at the door now. He looked down at his arm at where the apparition had grabbed him, seeing nothing off about it, but still feeling a rather weird tingle; like something was still there, but now couldn't be seen or do anything.

At this, Mike took in a shaky breath and closed his eyes, trying to get himself at a more stable place of mind as to what just happened. "_What just happened…_" he thought, not even sure himself.

Soon he opened his eyes and did a double take as his chair was now back in its original place; both doors open and the tablet still on his lap switched to Pirate Cove. He looked around, completely baffled at his surroundings and how things didn't even seem to have changed.

But soon he came to a logical enough explanation. With this, he closed both of the doors briefly as he went to fetch his bag. Two pills today it was then.

—

"Erm, yeah, sorry 'bout all tha trouble tanight, lad. Freddy gave me a pretty high number, fifteen, so that means I gotta be pretty active," Foxy apologized as he got himself more comfortable in the room, leaning himself on the desk. "Bonnie an' Chica both got low ones, two and five respectively, an' Freddy's got a ten, so I ended up bein' tha highest threat level."

Mike had his arms crossed when the pirate first entered the room, giving him a bit of a disapproving look at his play of the night. He had banged a total of four times before he finally decided to visit, and he had held off the visit until a few minutes before five this night.

"Well, I guess you chose a good time as any to come up. Probably wouldn't have lasted the night if it weren't for your visits, I'm not sure how the power would hold up now…" Mike said, looking over to the wall display to see 23% power, still green in color but soon would be turning red.

Foxy nodded at this, looking quite sad at the matter of fact. "Ye need ta keep in mind ta check me more of'en durin' Sundays. Even though I'm usually not as active as on Saturdays, sometimes there are oddballs like this where I am. I'd say e'ery five minutes or so should be good, just a quick glance an' that's enough ta keep me in place."

Mike let out a little breath at this, looking back over to the right door before shrugging to return his look to the pirate. "Ah well, fair enough, I guess. You did say Sunday has the chance of being a nightmare, so I probably shouldn't have taken it for granted like I did."

"Aye, best not, matey. So, other than that, how's yer night been then?" Foxy said, changing the topic quick enough so their visit wouldn't be wasted of dwelling thoughts.

"Eh…" Mike contemplated telling Foxy about the new hallucination spell he had just a few hours ago. It had been quite a frightening and noticeable one, but other than that nothing seemed to have happened afterwards. No stray noises, no awkward feelings, no bizarre sights… He decided that was probably a good sign that the double medicine was working. "Pretty uneventful, I guess. Day was certainly a lot better, and I was sorta hoping that would translate to the night as well. But aw well, wishful thinking, I suppose."

"Sorry ta hear we've made yer day a lil' less grand. Seem ta have a bad habit of doin' that, heh…" Foxy said, a sheepish look on his face as he rubbed the back of his head. "So yer day was pretty good then?"

"Ah yeah, pretty great actually! Got back in touch with a good friend, had a bit of fun with them…" Mike trailed off there, a bit of a sly grin to his face as he recalled their earlier antics. He was looking forward to future encounters with his Homo Bro.

Foxy took notice of that, chuckling a bit at the face the man made. "Ye look positively devious lad, don't tell me ye went tippin' cows or somethin', eh?" he joked, giving a playful look.

"Aw, nah, nothing cruel like that! Just some fun between good friends! Nice, innocent fun," he laughed a little as he spoke "innocent," since he knew damn well what they did was anything but.

Foxy continued to chuckle alongside with the man, smiling as his mood quickly improved. "It is always nice ta get back with friends, ain't it? I know I'd love ta see ol' Mangle 'gain, it'd be great ta see how she's doin'…"

Mike looked a little confused at this. "Mangle?" he said, quite baffled at the odd name the person seemed to have.

"Aye, Mangle. Or well, she used ta be called "Toy Foxy," but her name changed when tha kiddies tore her up. Not that she minds, she's usually out o' suit from what I hear, so-"

This didn't seem to help any of Mike's confusion as he continued to look at the pirate, giving him such a bizarre look.

"Ah, right, probably should start from tha beginnin'. Ye see, we sorta have doubles of ourselves. They're called tha Toy group, an' their part of a Fazbear place situated o'erseas-"

"Wait a second, there's more of you?" Mike said, looking rather shocked at this revelation.

"Well, not exactly matey. She ain't like me exactly, she's only really like me in tha fact that her name was once similar ta mine an' she was based on a fox. That an' also cause none o' tha Toy animatronics are androids like us; more like very advanced AI. They're sentient, can communicate quite well with people like ye an' I, but they don't have separate bodies like we do; their AI has ta transfer ta different computer an' television screens 'round than buildin' instead, if they don't wish ta stay in their suits," Foxy tapped his foot against the floor as he continued the explanation. "Basically they're the entire place, actually, as tha one o'erseas is basically a giant, sentient buildin'."

Mike's eyes went wide at this, looking over the android in bewilderment. "Jesus christ, and I thought you guys were advanced!"

Foxy scoffed a little at this, not really offended but more so in a playful manner. "Well, thanks a lot matey!" he said with a good-natured laugh. "Honestly they may sound more advanced, but they aren't. They were our creators first project, so they have a bit o' bugs ta 'em. Their knowledge is a lot more limited, as is their vocabulary. Basically a lot more business focused than we are; ye can have conversations, but not much more outside o' work-related stuff."

"But they're an entire building? Isn't that quite advanced?" Mike questioned this, wanting to learn more and more about the bizarre creations.

"Well, sorta. They're completely connected ta tha buildin' via tha security system an' computers scattered 'bout. So while they aren't tha buildin' _per say_, they are tha buildin' in tha fact their intelligence is linked ta it. I'm really sorry if my explanation's not makin' this clear, it's sorta hard to explain this really…"

"Uh, yeah, I… I think I get it, but I really don't know," Mike said, leaning more into his chair. "So they're basically simpler versions of you guys without human bodies?"

"Aye, that's basically it. They weren't programmed to be as advanced with interactions as we were, they were basically made fer work only. Like I said though, they're still smart an' we've made quite good friends out o' 'em 'fore they got sent o'erseas. 'aven't seen 'em in years, I do wonder if they're even doin' okay now…"

Mike frowned a little at the change of mood that the pirate seemed to have, seeing their face once lightened up with explanation now look rather solemn at the prospect that maybe his friends weren't even around anymore. At this, he got himself up out of the seat to stand beside the android. "You okay, dude?"

"Aye, matey, just… got me thoughts a lil' grim there. Last I heard, they weren't doin' too well either, so it does make me wonder if they've gone tha way we have an' closed down, or if they've managed to improve their situation unlike us. It's… well, depressin', an' we can't exactly write 'em a letter askin' if they're okay, ye know?"

Mike nodded in understanding, imagining it had to be hard for AIs to give and receive physical stuff like that. "And I guess they weren't exactly designed with Internet in mind?"

"Aye. Made 'fore that was even a thought. That would've made it easier, but sadly I don't think they have a caretaker like we do in Jennifer that updates them beyond glitch fixes… an' maybe not even that." he sighed at this, not really liking how he made himself sad once more. "Maybe once tha place closes down, I'll end up headin' ta where they are. Either as part o' a new company or just some heap o' trash…"

Mike still frowned at this, putting a hand to the pirate's shoulder as a gesture of quiet understanding.

At that, Foxy looked over and smiled at the man, a little bit small for his usual but still feeling rather genuine and apologetic. "I'm sorry lad, ye were talkin' 'bout yer own bits o' friendliness an' I done made it all sad. Maybe I should learn ta keep me mouth shut…"

"Nah man, it's fine. I hope you can get in contact with them again some time, its gotta suck not knowing how they're doing. But when you do, I bet it'll be some great relief, huh!" Mike said, trying to help keep the android's mood up.

Foxy nodded at that, his smile going a bit larger. "Aye, indeed. Well, now that we've got that out of tha way, how 'bout we go on somethin' else? We do have some more time ta kill, after all!" the pirate said, a little bit more cheerfully now.

—

"Hey, uh, Captain, could I ask you something?" Mike inquired, playing with one of the zippers on his bag.

"Aye, o' course lad! What be on yer mind?" the pirate said, tossing the little cupcake figurine in between his hands.

"Uh, I was just curious about stuff. So um, could I ask a bit about how you guys work? Like more details and stuff? I've been wondering since you mentioned you're quite a contrast to your uh… Toy? Counterparts," Mike said as he zipped and unzipped a pocket.

"Ah, sure matey! Where'd ye like ta start at?" Foxy said, perking up more in attention.

"Uh, I dunno… I guess maybe build would be the best start? Like how do your parts work in comparison to the Toy ones?"

Foxy smiled at this, setting the cupcake down back on its usual place. "Well, fer one, we have a body outside o' tha animatronics. Tha Toy ones were a prototype o' trying ta move AI components inta a variety o' places; though sadly they never achieved gettin' 'em their own human-like bodies. Somethin' 'bout their codin' just wouldn't let it stick."

"Anyways, we're actually quite similar in tha form of our AIs, tha only difference bein' ours are a lot more advanced in comparison. Our AIs are both capable o' movin' ta different forms of technology that are designed ta handle us; for us, it's our suits, an' fer 'em its their suits and security system," the pirate continued, stopping briefly to see if Mike had any questions with that statement.

"So, you could get in this tablet thing then?" Mike said, lifting it up from his lap.

"Uh, no, not exactly. That tablet wasn't designed ta handle our AI in that manner. Fer us ta transfer inta 'nother bit o' technology, it has to be specifically made ta tailor to our existence within; basically an empty space of data has ta be left that only our AIs are capable of fillin'," Foxy stretched as he continued on. "Basically nothin' in this buildin' other than our suits can hold us; we used ta have somethin' similar ta tha Toy animatronics in tha form o' a few computers we could go inta, but they broke some ages ago an' weren't used fer much more than checkin' customers in."

Mike seemed quite enthralled so far with the explanation, listening on with wide eyes and a soft smile. "Ah, okay then. Why didn't they make more stuff to accommodate you guys then?"

"Tha higher-ups simply never saw any reason ta make more, not since our creator died. He was tha main reason fer that kinda stuff even existin'; just him bein' a curious man."

"Okay then, so they're just cheap," Mike said, tapping his fingers on the tablet.

Foxy nodded. "Aye, always have been. Amazin' considerin' we were made an' we weren't cheap; they have such a weird way with money. Ah, anyway, a lot o' our design is pretty much the same, like I said. Tha only truly major difference is how we have a specific body we go inta whenever we aren't needed in the animatronics. Tha body's designed to replicate a human quite well, but not perfectly; fer example, I can eat, but I can't produce gas or waste. So no farts nor burps come from us."

"So what happens to the food then?" Mike asked, confused now.

"It simply gets dissolved in tha acid within our belly regions," Foxy said, simply enough as he patted his belly. "Tha acid has ta be changed carefully every few months ta make sure it's up ta snuff, an' ta dispose o' it ye have ta burn it. As a liquid it's quite corrosive, but as a gas it's harmless."

"How though? Wouldn't something like that be really bad for your lungs?"

Foxy shrugged, "Ye would think, but so far it doesn't seem ta show any damage. I guess it's tha properties o' it all, I'm not exactly a chemist so I can't say what it's composed o'."

"Uh, fair enough I guess," Mike said, chewing the inside of his cheek. "What else can your body do that's similar to a human?"

"Well, like ye saw a few days ago, we're capable of "cryin'." It's provoked ta mimic sadness in humans, but doesn't happen fer other reasons like, say, somethin' gettin' in our eyes. Our eyes are pure glass, so they can't get irritated like that," Foxy said, demonstrating by poking his eye and not even blinking. The action was enough to make Mike retaliate still though, as the idea of a finger in an eye—even an artificial one—made him flinch something awful.

"Ah, sorry if that was a bit much. Just thought that was probably tha quickest way ta show. On that point, we can blink but it's only ta make it so we don't just blankly stare at people all tha time. Our blinks aren't random like ye humans are, an' we can't control when it happens like ye do. It happens in intervals, every few seconds and milliseconds so."

"What about closing your eyes?" Mike asked, curious how their system seemed to work.

"Ah, we can close our eyes if an emotional response allows it! Like gettin' really frustrated, or laughin' particularly hard. We can't close 'em at will still, but there's a bit more control in that department."

"Oh, cool then! Uh, what else then?"

"Well, 'nother thin' we do that replicates humans is that we can appear injured. Our skin can tear an' bleed or bruise or what have ye; the difference is depending on the severity, it either heals extremely quickly, or we'd need a skin replacement as it permanently scabs. Funny how that works, there doesn't seem ta be a process o' us healin' o'er time like humans. As such, we have ta hide certain injuries that ended up healin' too quickly or takin' too long."

"Do you guys feel pain though?" Mike asked once more, so many questions coming forth the more the android explained.

"Aye, we do, but not in tha same vain as ye humans. It takes a lot more fer us ta get badly injured; somethin' that could probably provoke a nasty response in ye guys would be just discomfort ta us at most. If tha skin is all that's damaged, we won't feel much; but if part o' our machinery within gets tousled up, that can cause some serious pain."

"Why doesn't it hurt much with skin?"

"Mmm, I believe it has ta do with tha fact our nervous system isn't truly connected ta it. It's more like a suit o' clothes ta us, so when it tears or somethin', it doesn't really feel like much o' anythin'. We have ta change it e'ery so often, so it'd be a bit pointless ta make it painful ta remove, no?" Foxy let out a chuckle.

"I guess that makes sense, sure," Mike nodded in agreement, smiling towards the pirate. "You truly are something incredible, you know? Still I find it hard to believe stuff like this exists, yet here you are, standing in front of me and showing just what makes you different."

Foxy smiled gently at that, "Well, ye humans are quite different as well, aren't ye? Always changin', not one o' ye is quite tha same. Quite a spectacular world we live in, no?"

Mike once more nodded, his curiosity and love of the bizarre still sparked so wonderfully thanks to the android.

"Well, I'd love ta stay an' chat more 'bout how I work, but right now I gotta start headin' off. It's been a lovely chat with ye tonight Mike! I hope ye an' yer friend and keep up with whatever shenanigans you pull off!" the pirate said as he started for the door. "An' hey, maybe I'll be able ta see me old friends too. But even if not, I'm glad I've made a new one in ye lad. Makes life a lil more excitin'!"

Miked smiled broadly at this, nodding. "Of course! Always fun to meet new people, learning about them and all that jazz. So I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Aye, that you will. Remember, tomorrow's Monday, so as long as ye check every hour or so, I pretty much won't be any bother. Sometimes don't even bother comin' out from behind me curtain, I just like takin' a lazy day off like that."

"Don't we all?" Mike joked, setting up the tablet to once more be in ready mode. "Thanks for the nice talk, Captain."

"Not a problem lad, an' same with ye! See ye then!" Foxy said, starting to leave, but just as Mike was about to start up the tablet again, the pirate's head popped back up. "An' remember! Check Pirate Cove!" he said with a jaunty laugh, heading on back to the Cove with a spring to his step.


	8. Fluffers to the Rescue

**Alright, bit of a silly chapter this go around, and officially the first time skip chapter since—like I said—I don't plan on writing a chapter per day. I have a lot of ideas, but not like 60 chapters worth, haha.**

**Idea was recommended by KillerGirlFuria on AO3, and it was too cute of an idea to just pass up. And motivation once more goes to C0RP0RAL-CLEGG on Fanfiction for helping to press me on and offering to help out when I feel stumped. He's not helping just yet, but with time I'm sure his writing will find a place here too!**

**Anyway, let's get started!**

**Warning(s): Ableism Mention [Section Five]**

* * *

><p>Mike entered his car, setting his bag on his lap to rummage through to make sure all the important stuff was in there. He was running a little behind schedule this night, as Ronnie's friend Melanie had come over for comfort after the recent death of her pet guinea pig. Because of this, Mike had been held back to try and help comfort, and once Melanie finally finished crying her heart out, Mike had already been held back a good ten minutes.<p>

He always checked to make sure he had everything on him before he left any place, but in his rush he forgot to look while still in the house. Remembering just as the door closed, he quickly opened up the bag to begin the typical ritual. Everything seemed to be in order; his albums were in their proper spot, keys were in the inner pocket, lube was tucked away as always cause hell, you never know. But there was something he couldn't seem to locate for the life of him, even if he was accustomed to his backpack swallowing up any little object that wasn't kept in firm place.

And that was the flashlight; one of the more crucial things he needed.

He swore as he kept rummaging about, trying to see if it got lost behind something again or if he placed it in an outer pocket absentmindedly. His search came out fruitless, as no matter where he looked, he couldn't find the small little beacon.

"Fuck!" he cursed out loud now, panic starting to go through him at the idea of not being able to see to get to the office. His phone wasn't an option this time due to accidentally leaving it over at Derrick's earlier in the day, and forgetting about it until _right this damn second_. He wondered if he forgot the flashlight there too, even though he didn't recall pulling it out while he was there. Where was the last time he used it?

At this, a little smack of realization hit him as he remembered; he used the flashlight earlier today as well, using it to change the burnt out bulb in his bedroom. He must've forgotten to put it back in his bag once he finished with its use, and left it lying on the nightstand. Hopefully anyway, he didn't think he would just throw it to the side like that.

With this, he burst out of the car, leaving the door open as he rushed back to his apartment. Soon the door was flung open, carefully but still rushed, as Mike came running in.

"No time to talk, forgot flashlight!" he said frankly enough as Ronnie and Melanie turned their heads around from their spot in the dining room; hearing the door open and not knowing who at first it was. Once it was revealed to be Mike, they relaxed back into their positions and went back to talking.

As Mike went rushing up to his room, he forgot to close the door behind him. Which usually wasn't a big deal when Ronnie was still in the house or Fluffers was asleep. But Ronnie was currently too distracted to pay the cat any mind, and Fluffers had just woken up from her nightly nap.

The calico cat came sauntering into the living room, having finished her dinner of tuna and chicken and was about to lay down for some more rest, when she noticed the door was wide open. She always was a mischievous sort of cat, despite her rather lazy nature, and whenever she saw an opportunity to get out doors, she always would take it. Casually she walked out of the door, a little quickly just in case one of the brothers came out to realize what she was doing.

She would return home, of course. The humans were too good with feeding and pampering her to just let that all go away to a life of wilderness. But she had to have her own adventures, being locked in a house all the time was tiring even for someone who sunbathed most of the day. She had to feel the fresh air, let her whiskers get teased by the soft wind.

Her little adventure outside took a different detour from usual when the cat noticed another door open; one she never recalled seeing being open before, as the vehicle in question was usually gone while she was out and about. The curious cat wondered if this door would take her to some sort of secret spot, or advanced form of outside she never experienced before.

Needless to say though, she couldn't resist the call of adventure, and quickly jumped to the seat, looking around at the interior of the car. It was a bizarre thing, but one she could vaguely remember. But from what, she wondered? She couldn't recall being in something like this before; she always was inside the house, and when she was outside she never ventured far from the building. The only time she remembered being in a spot different from those two was…

The thought of the cat was quickly snapped out once she head the door of the apartment close with a loud bang. Suspecting it was one of the brothers looking for her, she quickly climbed over the cupholder and hid herself in the back seat, behind the driver's seat and just out of view. She wasn't ready to go in quite yet, not when she was trying to remember what it was about this car that was so familiar.

Despite the cat's worry, Mike hadn't come out wondering where his cat was; instead he had simply rushed back to the car to get back to business, now that he had located his flashlight. He still had some time before the game would start, but he didn't care to waste anymore time than he already had. And besides, last he saw of Fluffers, the cat was fast asleep in her little cat bed for once. He didn't think of taking a detour to check on her this go around.

With everything situated in place, Mike was back in the car with the keys in hand, cranking it and starting off his journey to work with an unexpected hitchhiker.

—

Mike hummed along to the music as he continued his drive to work. He drove a little faster than usual, but thankfully at this time of night there were virtually no cops in the area. Then again he didn't think he'd get pulled over for going five over the speed limit, but who knows.

He was rather focused on his driving tonight, paying attention to the time to make sure he still had enough breathing room to spare. At the rate he was going, he should have at least ten minutes to get to the office, so thankfully he didn't let his delay get to him.

As he tapped on the wheel in rhythm to the radio, he couldn't help but think he heard a little shuffling in the back. Of course he couldn't just turn and look, so far none of the lights had been red and there weren't any stop signs on the way to work. But he presumed it was nothing, maybe at most a bag of fast food trash he forgot to get out that was moving about.

That thought was soon jarred out once he heard something jump to the seat next to him, and a little meow sound out for attention.

Mike jumped a little, quickly looking over to see before looking back at the road, and repeating the actions a couple of times to make sure his eyes weren't messing with him. Sure enough, his cat was right next to him now, looking at him as only a cat would.

"F-Fluffers?" he muttered out, highly confused as he let one hand go over to touch the cat; just to see if the image was real, if he really wasn't just hallucinating again. The soft warmth of the fur and light vibrations of purring resounded through his fingertips, making him very aware that this was indeed a living being next to him.

"What the hell!" he exclaimed slightly, but not too loudly since he was more befuddled than actually mad. "How'd you get out here? You were literally asleep last I saw- fuck, man, I knew I should've checked on you before I left," he said as he looked over at the clock. 11:45.

"Shit…" he swore, realizing he had no time to get her back home. He was already almost at work, at if he did go back he surely wouldn't have time to get to the office. And since last Wednesday had been such a close call with being caught, he didn't care to risk it even further by being late on a Thursday.

"I guess… I guess you're gonna be with me, huh, sweetie?" he said, briefly look over at her again to see her laying down. "Fuck, you're an absolute card, but at least your safe… Don't scare me like that again, okay?"

The cat merely started licking her paw in indifference, not really paying much attention to the human.

With that, he smiled a little as he looked back to the road, the pizzeria coming up to view as he descended down the hill. Well, maybe this would give him some more moral support to not get himself killed tonight.

—

As Mike put the car into park, he gave one last look to the clock. 11:47, he had some time to think. Think about what he was going to do with Fluffers.

He couldn't just leave her in the car; even if it was a cool night, what if he died that night and no one found her in the car before it got too hot? Sure, they were in the middle of autumn, but what if that day turned out to be a peculiarly hot day for the season?

But surely if he brought the cat in here, that would cause nothing but trouble. If he survived and his bosses found out about it, they'd probably fire him for dirtying up the place or something. Then he wondered why he thought that was a bad idea, considering that meant he would get out alive for sure, but for some reason the thought of getting fired was one of the least appealing thoughts to him.

And what about the animatronics? Would they have the nerve to kill a cat, just like they kill humans? Sure, it was part of the "job," as Foxy put it, but would it extend to a secondary party who should really have no involvement in the game? What if Fluffers wandered off, there was no reason to expect her to stay in a small room the entire night. What if she ran into them, end up getting squished or stuffed or…

Mike's thoughts were interrupted when he felt a force on his lap now, purring and laying there as a sign of comfort. He looked down at his little vagabond, smiling softly at what he assumed as an attempt to calm him down. With this, he gently stroked the cat as a gesture of thanks.

"You ah… crap, kitty, if you come in you gotta behave, okay? Stay in the room with me, don't wander off. It'll be a while, but I promise it's for the best…" he said, as if the cat would even understand what he meant. Hopefully she'd understand, somehow.

The cat merely continued to purr, rubbing against the hand that stroked her.

Taking this as a sign of agreement, Mike nodded and picked up the cat carefully, holding her away from his bag while he fished for the flashlight.

—

The building felt even more dark and foreboding than usual. Every inch of darkness that wasn't brightened by the flashlight felt like it clung to Mike's skin, little noises he would pay no attention to before now rang out like a bell. Every bit felt so much more dangerous now that he had a second life to defend.

Mike adjusted the cat's position in his arms while he continued his trek to the office. He made sure to go as fast as he could, considering Fluffers was squirming a little to be free and the fact he had no idea what time it was now. But even then it was hard, having a bit of extra weight holding him down.

Soon though he was down the hallway that lead to the office, going past the various children's drawing that decorated the walls and hid the all too faded paint behind. He continued having to adjust his hold all the while, the cat being finicky tonight and only being subdued with little scratches behind the ear. But he would reach the office soon enough, and then he'd have to hope Fluffers would cooperate for once. He wasn't sure if he could bare knowing if she got hurt, all because he was too quick to check out the car beforehand.

As Mike began to approach the office, his steps started the slow when his flashlight's beam didn't fall upon the open room, but instead to a closed iron door. Eyes widening once the realization hit him, he picked up speed to ensure what he saw was the truth. Indeed it was; with a little kick to the door, a light bang of metal sounded, signifying the way was sealed off.

"Oh shit, oh no…" he whined, looking over to the window to see if the other way was blocked as well. He swore again when he confirmed his suspicions, seeing how both doors were now locked down in place. As if someone had pressed the buttons.

"No, oh no, please don't be broke…" he pleaded, kicking more at the door in hopes that would persuade it to open. It did no good, all it did was make a noise. With this, he violently began to shake, feeling panic well up within at such an alarming speed. "Fuck, no, you gotta be shitting me!"

If that wasn't enough to make his heart pick up pace, suddenly he began to hear what sounded like footsteps. But they weren't like the metallic ones of the animatronics, the ones he was familiar with at this point in time. Instead they echoed, resounded against each wall as if coming from all corners, all sides.

At the noise, Mike began to back up, whispering "No, oh no," all the while. They were coming, something was coming, he wasn't safe. He pointed his flashlight down the hallway now, and saw a vague shape coming up from the darkness. "No, no no," he begged now, feeling his legs tremble.

Mike could feel his body become leaden, falling to the ground as if his legs had failed him now. He could only watch, watch on as the figure approached, no features adorning their presence, nothing to define their form. Mike closed his eyes tightly at this now, expecting to feel himself be pulled away.

Instead, there was only a hiss.

—

The darkness behind Mike's eyes suddenly found itself with a warm glow, no longer totally encompassed within a cold blackness. At this, he opened his eyes to see he was standing again, at the doorway to the office with a hand to the light switch. He apparently had just turned it on, and was entering the small room that was once sealed off to him.

Mike felt baffled, looking down in his arms at that cat that now was purring softly. Wasn't she hissing just a moment ago? Never in all the time that he'd had her had he heard her hiss, but what else could it have been? But the cat was now simply in his hold, wishing to be free to lay somewhere, acting as if nothing strange had happened.

Taking a moment to gather his thoughts, he finally called it quits when he couldn't decide on what just happened to him. Or well, there was a thought that passed by him, one that had him scared that it was happening again. But he didn't dwell on it, caring more about the fact he was still out in the open when the game surely was in swing now.

At this, Mike finished entering the room, gently setting the cat on the desk. Once she was free, she immediately took to curling up into a ball and laying on the desk. Mike smiled at this, happy she was staying close at least for the time being. He hoped she would stay like this, just lazing in one place until the night was over and they could get home.

Mike finally settled down himself once his bag was to the floor and the tablet was in his hands. There was still that nagging thought in the back of his head, bothering him with what had just happened. "_But it couldn't be that, right?_" he thought. "_I-I wouldn't be aware of it, would I? I would just… I would think it was happening, I wouldn't just realize it wasn't real, right?_"

His thoughts went quiet after that, going blank as he began the rhythm of the night; turning on the tablet and switching to Pirate Cove and the main stage to check on the four. But there was now an echo going on in his head, a word he was too familiar with and he hoped he never would hear again. But here he was, hearing it within, repeating over and over in that voice that sent shivers down his spine…

"_Psycho._"

—

The night had been a hectic one, despite the fact that Fluffers stayed obediently within the room. Bonnie and Chica were both very active—having arrived at least three times each—and Freddy was wandering about, his deep, menacing laughter echoing throughout the pizzeria. Foxy however was tame in comparison, only just recently peeking out after three hours had passed.

Mike was more than a little stressed at this point, but thankfully the frenzied nature of the game helped distract him from the toxic thoughts that bubbled in his mind. No long was he hearing that voice he wish would just go away, but now hearing one saying "Fuck, fuck, are they close?" in a panic each time he so much as moved his chair and made a weird noise.

With a sigh, Mike switched the camera off of Pirate Cove back to where he last saw Freddy, making sure he hadn't wandered off too far from his original position. He didn't see him in section A of the hallway, nor was he in section B, and when he was about to check over to the restroom area he ended up letting out an "oof" as Fluffers jumped from the desk to his lap; covering up the screen of the tablet.

"Fluffers!" he said, a bit too loudly, trying to gently remove the cat from his lap. She was adamant to stay on, claws digging ever so slightly to keep herself latched, but eventually he got her back in position on the desk. With this, he petted her a little to show her the affection she probably was seeking in the first place. A good few strokes later, he returned his attention to the tablet, which had been switched to the backroom due to the cat landing on it.

Quickly he switched to the room he was about to check beforehand, the restroom, to check and see if Freddy was there. Chica was, but Freddy was a no show. He gave a glimpse in the dining area and tried to squint to see if the little beads of the bear's eyes were present. No such luck, all he saw was blackness.

He was starting to get antsy at his inability to locate the bear, and was about to switch to the halls again, when all of a sudden he heard that laughter again. Piercing and loud and… and sounding like it was in the very room with him.

Mike's gaze quickly shot up to the right door, and sure enough there was Freddy, mouth opened wide and playing out that distorted laugh track. The usually emotionless eyes now seemed to hold a hunter's glare, piercing down and imposing over the smaller human. Mike's heart was racing at an alarming pace, head swimming in panic as he couldn't even find the courage to scream.

Freddy soon entered more in the room, making Mike scoot his chair backwards until he hit the wall. He was cornered, trapped, and all the possibilities of escape just meant a different form of death. "Please, please no…" he said so quietly, so timidly as the bear continued to approach.

The animatronic was practically on top of him when all of a sudden a meow sounded from the room, drawing the bear's attention away from the man. Mike was so petrified that he didn't even pay it any mind, didn't even think about how he was going to leave a cat behind in his death. All he could focus on was the fact that Freddy was so close to grabbing him, so close to his face… but now he was turned away, looking towards the desk.

In a startling change of event, Freddy backed off to go over towards the desk, looking over at the cat that was mewing for attention. Once the animatronic was close enough, the cat started reaching towards him in a playful manner, lightly pawing at the faux fur of the suit. Freddy simply looked down to where the cat touched. And at that touch, the violent thoughts that ran through his head was replaced with new thoughts. Thoughts of pure joy, of admiration for the small creature in front of him.

"Kitty…" he couldn't help but mutter out, reaching over to pet the small animal as carefully as he could with his structure. Fluffers purred at this, rubbing against the hand encouragingly, which only served to make the more pleasant thoughts more prominent.

It was wonderful; for once, he didn't feel the overwhelming urge to eviscerate the security guard that just so happened to be working this go around. Instead he simply wanted to play with the cat, hug it so tenderly against him, coo at it so lovingly. Something he hadn't done is so long, not since that horrible night.

Mike was completely shocked now at how the animatronic was acting. Just moments ago he was sure his fate was sealed, that soon he would feel the metal of the suits tear into him until he was nothing more than mush. But now his attacker was admiring his cat; which he didn't blame, Fluffers was an incredible cat. But it was so against the expected, so out of the horrible norm that this game was.

After a bit more stroking, Freddy carefully picked up the cat to hold her tenderly, still stroking her all the while. He turned around now, seeing the guard, and a conflict of thoughts raced through his head. The original thoughts of wishing death upon this horrible person, this man who killed them. The new thoughts of wanting to play more with the cat, the welcoming thoughts of not doing that damning action he was so accustomed to doing now…

"Is this your cat," he didn't so much as ask as he briskly announced, looking down at the man that now yelped a little at the unexpected remark.

"A-Ah…" he shuddered a bit, looking over at his cat with an overwhelming fear that the bear would hurt her. "Y-Yes, that's my… that's Fluffers…"

"Fluffers…" Freddy repeated, looking down at the small bundle of warmth in his hands. The admiration he felt for the cat was once more overpowering the wicked thoughts, making the android within so relieved. But once more he looked up, and that sour feeling came returning. And this time it wasn't so appeased by the cat.

Mike swallowed as the bear's gaze returned to him, looking back over to his cat one more time before looking to the bear. "Please, oh please don't hurt her, she's just a kitty…" he begged, eyes filled with pleading. For mercy.

If the animatronic's facial features were advanced enough, he would've looked positively offended at this. "Hurt an animal? Of course not. They're innocent creatures," he said, frankly enough as he went over to the man. Mike flinched at this, expecting to feel a hand grab at him, but was surprised once more to see the cat being returned to him, placed so gingerly to his lap.

"Find her a new home," was stated now, simply enough.

"P-Pardon…?" Mike asked, hugging onto the cat as he looked up at Freddy.

"I will spare you tonight. You won't have to worry about your end. But only tonight, only because she's here. Find her someone else that can take care of her, so she can continue on without you."

The way this was said made Mike's blood chill even more than it was already; if he didn't know any better, he would've thought the liquid within his veins was solid ice now. It was so sternly said, with no mercy, no compassion. That Freddy was making it sound like for sure he was going to die, no matter how hard he tried.

He didn't care to argue with the bear, to make him angry at trying to be defiant and brave. He simply nodded, "I-I… I have a brother, he can… take care of her in my stead…" he said, defeated. "But, but… please, please let me have more time with her. Please give me another chance. I-I don't…" he was practically on the verge of tears now, his voice so very shaky.

Freddy was about to respond, when his chance was interrupted by a different voice. "Freddy?" the familiar voice of the pirate android sounded, outside of suit and was coming in for his visit. Except here Freddy was, in the room and giving the man a stare down.

The bear now looked over to the shocked man that stood in the door, eyes wide in amazement at how composed the animatronic seemed this go around. Mike's eyes also came upon the android that stood in the doorway next to him. He wanted to burst out of the seat, to hide behind the friendly face he recognized as the red-haired pirate. But would he even do anything, knowing that Freddy had got to him first?

The question was answered with a stern "Fine" from Freddy. At this, both men looked confused and shocked at the statement, looking at the bear with a bug-eyed stare. "Fine. This won't count as a loss tonight," he clarified himself, as he returned the soulless plastic eyes back towards Mike.

"The game will continue as normal tomorrow. You will have more chances to be with your cat. But only this once, only this time. As long as you don't get caught tomorrow and ruin my mercy, then you should have more time. Until then, tonight… will be free."

"Freddy? What tha blimey's goin' on here?" Foxy asked, so very confused at what he just walked into.

The animatronic now went to look at his friend. "You can stay as long as you want tonight. As long as that cat's here, I won't kill him," he said, frankly enough. But quickly he looked back at Mike, making a clarification. "Don't try to push your luck and bring the cat again. This is but a one time deal. Bring her again, and I will find no mercy for you."

Mike swallowed at that, nodding and holding the cat more. "U-Understood," he said, knowing now the cat wasn't a sure-fire safety net.

"Good," was all that was said now, as the bear turned around to leave. "I will be back. But not in malice. Not this time," he said, just before he exited the room.

Soon the room was deathly silent as all that could be heard was the loud purr of the cat. Mike blinked rapidly, touching his face and lightly pinching to see if this was all real. When the little bit of pain hit his cheek to confirm the reality of the situation, he once more remembered the fourth presence that was the pirate and looked over at him, to see him be completely amazed.

"Well I'll be… There truly is a first fer everythin'," Foxy said, a smile painted on his features.

—

"So, this be tha lovely lil lady I have ta thank fer savin' ye tanight, eh?" Foxy asked, petting the cat that now laid purring back on the desk. She seemed fond of the pile of papers she was using as a makeshift bed, and once Mike had left go of her she returned to that very spot.

"Uh, yeah…" Mike said, watching as the pirate caressed Fluffers with his good hand, careful to keep his hook away from her. He still felt in shock about the whole ordeal, how he was literally moments from death, and it was only the fact his cat was around this go around that he was still breathing in his seat now. "I-I didn't bring her on purpose, she sneaked out while I wasn't looking, and I just… I couldn't keep her in the car, that's so dangerous to do."

Foxy nodded in agreement. "Aye, even at night I'd be hesitant ta leave a pet out like that as well. Always see at least one customer a day leave a dog in while they ate, an' it always makes me nervous when they take a long time an' don't even bother ta check on 'em."

"Yeah, uh, I hate when people do that. Especially when they don't even leave a window open, that's like, a sure-fire way to either kill your dog or make them really ill. Though honestly, if you know you're going some place that doesn't let pets outside of guide animals in, why bring them with you then and risk them?"

Foxy shrugged at that. "Good question. I get that animals are cute an' good company, but they're a responsibility. I'd swear, I've seen people more panicked at tha idea o' leavin' their phone in tha car o'er leavin' a pet, an' that's just sad."

"Yeah, like, I get that phones and stuff like that are expensive to replace, but the thing is they _can_ be replaced. A pet, not so much. Sure you can always buy another one, but it just isn't the same as one you've lost…" Mike cleared his throat as he scooted his chair up more to the desk. "Gotta say, didn't think I'd be having a convo like this tonight. You guys have interacted with animals before?"

"Not too much, sadly. Like ye said, only guide animals are normally allowed in here. Ye bringin' yer cat in here's a first, always end up seein' dogs instead. An' o' course, seein' dogs bein' locked in cars, those are always so sad," Foxy said, moving his hand away. "If circumstances were more friendly, I'd say it probably wouldn't hurt ta bring her at night; we always clean up tha place 'fore it opens, so we'd catch any stray cat hairs. But sadly, Freddy has that damn game…"

"Y-Yeah… A-And honestly, even if it did work, I wouldn't want to worry about losing Fluffers or something. She's too important to risk like that."

Foxy gave a gentle smile at that remark, looking at the man with soft approval. "It's good ta see owners like ye lad, who really seem ta care 'bout these small lives. Breath o' fresh air, it is."

"Well, thanks Captain. I do fancy myself an animal lover, so of course that comes with responsibilities to take care of."

"Mmm," the pirate hummed at that. After that, there was an awkward silence between the two men, the only noise being from the shifting of papers as the cat moved around to adjust herself.

Eventually though, Mike piped up to make a remark. "Gotta say, didn't expect Freddy to be a cat lover."

"I'd say we all care 'bout animals ta a degree. Bonnie's probably tha biggest one, they flat out refuse ta eat meat due ta how it's dead animals. But all o' us agree that hurting an animal is below us," Foxy said, looking over at the man.

Mike half wanted to retort with a "But killing a human isn't?" But he decided it was best not to antagonize his one friend in this place, the one that was ultimately helping to keep him alive just a little bit longer every night. Instead he nodded, smiling at the pirate. "Good to hear. Takes a certain kind of evil to actually cause harm to them, I'd say."

"Aye, a cruel heart indeed."

Once more the room fell to silence, the men simply not knowing what to say for the time being. Foxy was fine with it, knowing tonight was a night with no limit to how long he could stay, but Mike's thoughts were a bit more troubled. Mostly due to what Freddy had said earlier, something that stuck out to him.

"_Hurt an animal? Of course not. They're innocent creatures_." Mike could agree with that statement in full, but still there was a bit about it that bothered him.

"Hey, uh, Foxy?" Mike started, trying not to make eye contact in case this was an awkward encounter.

"Aye? What is it, lad?" the pirate asked, putting his full attention to the man in front of him now.

"Uh… I'm, I'm really sorry if this is a bit awkward to ask, I'm just… Do you uh, know why Freddy doesn't see me as innocent? He mentioned he would never hurt an animal due to the fact their innocent, so it's probably safe to assume he thinks I'm not in the same boat…"

Foxy was unsure as to how to approach this question, but he knew that it was too important of one to try and ignore. He took in a breath and contemplated, not too sure himself as to why Freddy had such a vendetta against every guard after that incident. "I… can't say I know, lad. Ta tha rest o' us, ye are innocent. Yer just some lad who's had tha misfortune o' bein' a part o' this awful lil game, if ye ever did anythin' wrong we don't know what that was. An' I can safely say, Freddy ain't no psychic."

"Oh what, so you think I did do something bad?" Mike said, not sure if he should feel hurt or not.

"Well, we all do somethin' bad at some point in our lives. But I'm sure tha worst ye ever did was maybe say somethin' that hurt someone's feelin's; hardly a thing ta get killed o'er," Foxy shook his head, realizing he was derailing a bit. "No, nothin' as bad as what we do… I really wish I did know what runs through Freddy's head, maybe then I could find a way ta convince him not ta do it…"

Foxy cleared his throat at this, giving Mike a gentle look. "I'm sorry I can't answer yer question ta any real clarity, lad. Me guess is he's nervous 'bout a repeat, but I think this is horribly tha wrong way ta go."

Mike could accept that, at the least. He knew it must've been a hard question to try and answer, and that was probably as solid of an answer as he was going to get. "Alright then, uh… guess I can try and be optimistic that's he's just doing this for the sake of future children, right?"

"Well, that's one way ta put it, yeah," the android said, playing with his hook a bit. "I at least hope that Freddy ain't a malevolent sort, but who knows. Maybe after all these years I still don't know 'im."

"You never know, and I guess it's pointless trying to dwell on it…" Mike said, before going quiet once more. Soon though he cleared his throat and decided now would be best to try and get things in a more positive light. "Well uh, we got the whole night ahead of us tonight. Got anything special you want to talk about?"

Foxy gave a little smile at that. "Oh, I might lad. But let's save tha good stuff fer later, aye?"

—

"Freddy really is a cat lover, isn't he?" Mike commented on, watching Freddy play with Fluffers up on the stage. Since there was no limit for how long Foxy could stay tonight, and the game was officially on hold until tomorrow, the two decided some more room would be best for the prolonged visitation. More room to stretch the legs, to not feel so claustrophobic.

"Aye, gotta say I've never seen 'im like this. Then again, he never really interacted with animals much; usually he's in tha office most o' tha time, an' when he's not he's up on stage performin'. Not much chance to interact with what little animals we do see," Foxy said, taking a swig from the water bottle he had. "Don't get why he won't come outta that suit though."

"Yeah, that's… sorta odd. Like Bonnie's out, and I guess Chica is too since you said she's in the kitchen? Does he like being in the suit or something?"

"If he does, he damn well knows how ta hide it durin' tha day. He always tends ta complain 'bout feelin' restricted when he's in it; not that I blame 'im, but just. Ye'd think he'd take a chance like this ta get out fer once," Foxy tapped his hook to the table, watching as the bear took a long string of toilet paper and twirled it around for the cat to chase. He smirked at this though. "I dunno what's more amusin' though; seein' a large, robotic bear playin' with a lil kitty, or tha image o' a grown man dancin' 'round with toilet paper as a cat follows."

Mike giggled at this, nodding as he monitored the two play. Freddy had visited once before they entered the dining room, which was a bit of an awkward encounter as he absentmindedly stroked the cat while still giving a seemingly death glare at Mike. But sure enough, the bear was good on his word; keeping his distance and not even uttering a harsh retort towards the guard.

But still, the close proximity had made Mike nervous, and as such Foxy had recommended joining him in the dining room. That way there would be a good gap between the group, and Freddy could still have his fun with the cat. It was cute, in a way, seeing his boss play around like a child; sometimes he'd even hear him laugh, and not that distorted, horrid one that sounded during the game. A genuine laugh, full of mirth that even made Mike smile a little.

"I wish every night was like this…" Foxy said, setting his water down. "It's nice not havin' ta think so glumly, ta be so aggressive. Ta just sit back, have a drink, an' talk without a time limit."

"Yeah…" Mike agreed, tipping his chair back a little like usual. "You're a pretty cool dude to talk to, and tonight's been pretty great so far, outside of my initial panic. It's really cool hearing about all your little exploits in this place, a lot more seems to happen than one would think."

"Aye. We make our own entertainment, bein' stuck in here all tha time. But even on slow days, we usually have a story ta tell; no matter how small it may be," Foxy looked over at Mike now once he got the lid back on his bottle. "What 'bout ye, lad? I've been talkin' all night 'bout stuff I've done, but ye haven't even mentioned a lil exploit o' yer own. What kinda adventures ye find yerself havin'?"

"Oh, um…" Mike rocked the chair a little, making it tap on the floor every so often. "I don't uh, really do much. So uh, I don't really have any stories. I'm really sorry, I'm just a super boring person like that."

Foxy frowned a little at that, "Come now, matey, there's gotta be some spice in yer life! What 'bout that uh, thing ye mentioned a few nights back? What was it, erm… Seven Universes?"

Mike laughed a little at the messed up name, shaking his head. "Steven Universe; it's just this cartoon I like a lot, nothing much to say though. It's really something you gotta experience yourself, talking about it just doesn't do it justice."

Foxy hummed, tapping his hook to the table. "Mmmm… well, why not talk 'bout ol' Fluffers there then? How'd ye get her?"

Mike perked up a little at that, perhaps he did have a sort of story to tell after all. "Ah, I adopted Fluffers! I was on Facebook when one of my friends post something about how a litter of kittens was left at a kill shelter, and the shelter was taking a week to find homes for the fellas instead of just, well… putting them to sleep."

"Aw, that's awful. Don't get people who end up gettin' pets, only ta abandon 'em later or not even try ta find 'em a home," Foxy commented, looking a little sad at the mention of them being abandoned at such a young age.

"Yeah, it sucks pretty hard. But uh, good news was all of them found a home. When I had got there, there was only like, three kittens left, and once I got Fluffers there was already another person there looking at the cats. Friend made a post later on saying all the cats were adopted, so that was great to hear!" Mike smiled, hoping to bring the mood in. "I've uh, had her for about two years now. Been with me through thick and thin, just like my bro; got the best company in the world with those two."

Foxy returned the smile at that comment. "Well, great ta hear lad, and great ta hear ye aren't so lonely. What's yer brother like, by tha way? Ye mentioned 'im once 'fore, but never went in much detail."

"Oh, Ronnie's great! He uh, he's a really social guy and tends to talk a lot, but he always likes to keep positive and give support when he can! He's actually my step brother, my dad married his mom, but we've been close ever since!" Mike recalled, excitedly going on about how great his brother was.

"Ronnie and I've been basically inseparable since we first met, the only way we were apart was during school and we had different classes. I always tried to look out for him due to bullies and nasty creeps that kept trying to flirt with him before he transitioned, but admittedly he always was stronger than me. Real good with his hands, and gym was always his favorite class; weight-lifting especially."

Foxy kept quiet for the most part, hearing the man go on ecstatically about his brother. He smiled all the while, happy to see the man finally let out for once, instead of staying quiet about his life. He looked forward to the possibility of hearing more stories like this, even if it took a little work to get the man to open up.

All the while, Freddy continued to play with Fluffers, laying on the ground as the cat laid on top of him, petting her and feeling a joy he never felt before. He knew it wasn't his joy, but he'd rather feel this over what he typically felt.

—

Ronnie paced back and forth within the apartment, thoughts racing at how he was going to tell Mike that he couldn't find Fluffers. Ever since Melanie left around 1 in the morning, he quickly took notice that the cat wasn't anywhere to be seen in the apartment. Not locked in one of the rooms, not asleep in her usual spots, not eating at her food bowl; not a trace of her to be found.

He made sure to check if the windows were all closed, and even went outside during the night to see if he could find her lurking about. But there was no such luck, if the cat was close by she was a master of hiding. Because of this, Ronnie wasn't able to sleep a wink, no matter how hard he tried to distract himself. He just knew his brother would be heartbroken when he told him the news, and he hated himself that he would be the reason he would be in a bad mood.

Soon he heard the door open to the apartment, signifying his brother had returned home from work. Taking one last swallow of coffee, Ronnie's steeled himself as he got out of the seat, taking in a breath and walking in the living room.

"Ah, hey Mike, ah, I-" he had started, until he noticed that Mike was coming in with a larger load in his hands than his usual bag; the sneaky cat that Ronnie had so panicked about having run away. "Oh woah shit, you found her?" Ronnie said, a little bit loudly and in shock, but was relieved to see Fluffers was still in one piece and was safely home.

MIke sat his bag down on the chair before shaking his head. "More like she found me, little butthole here somehow got in my car and I didn't realize until I was pretty much already at the place. Scared me half to death, but hey, the company was nice tonight," Mike said as he released the cat onto the couch, watching her quickly jump down to find her litter box.

Ronnie gave a happy sigh at that, watching the cat wander off. "Oh thank fuck for that, I was so scared she got herself killed and… damn, I'm just glad she's safe," he said as he collapsed onto the couch, the relief washing over him causing his fatigue to hit him full force.

"… Did you stay up all night?" Mike asked, sitting down next to his brother. "Geez man, sorry about that, I wasn't expecting you to worry so much. If I did, I would've called you about it once I found out."

"Hell yeah man, I was worried. I know you love that little fluffball like no other, and hell, though she may get into my milk more times than I like, I admit I've grown fond of her too. She's a big part of this family, the house just wouldn't be the same without her," Ronnie said, running a hand through his hair. "I mean fuck, you saw how devastated Melanie was tonight, I was afraid I was gonna have to deal with a double dose of that, and just… that's so much sadness man."

Mike nodded, remember how just before he was about the leave the crying woman came knocking, seeking comfort for her loss. Pets were incredible to have, but the devastation of losing them was sometimes too much to bear on your own; so of course the two brothers welcomed her in her time of need.

"How was she, by the way? Had to leave before it could really get resolved," Mike asked, concerned at the state she was in. He personally didn't know her too well, but she was a good friend of Ronnie's and he liked to think of his friends as his own.

"Fine, after she got all the stress out. I talked with her about maybe getting another pet to help ease the pain, maybe something different like a bunny. But we sorta both agreed that it was a bit too fast of a choice considering Eva literally died a few hours before. So I uh, gave her some of my favorite comedy movies to help cheer her up, and recommended a few funny Youtube videos while I was at it," Ronnie said as he leaned on his brother, yawning again at just how potent his sleepiness was. "How 'bout you? I guess it was more exciting than usual given the fact that little shit sneaked a joyride, but still. Bosses didn't get mad?"

"Well, I can't exactly bring her again, of course, but they uh… understood tonight and let her stay. Still though, one of them took advantage of her being there tonight and had a blast playing with her. It was so weird, but oddly charming to see your superiors still have a bit of childlike glee to them," Mike said, laughing as he recalled watching the bear make silly noises at the cat.

Ronnie nodded at that, "Always good to see people be human, right?" he said, closing his eyes as he relaxed himself now. "Sorry about not paying more attention to her tonight, I really should've-"

Mike interrupted before his brother could continue on. "Nah man, I understand. It's hard dealing with a grieving person, I hardly expected you to have priority over a cat compared to that. She's safe, so there's no need for apologies," Mike said, patting his brother on his head. "Why not get a little nap in before you gotta head off? I'll stay up til it's time for you to go, so you don't have to worry about sleeping through an alarm."

Ronnie gave another yawn before he nodded once more, positioning himself now to lay on the other side of the couch. "Good idea, that coffee really isn't working. Thanks bro," he said now, head positioned on the arm of the couch as he closed his eyes. "Night," he finished off, quick to the draw with going to sleep.

"Night man," Mike said, reaching for the remote and turning on the TV.


	9. End of an Era

Oh dang I can't wait anymore to divulge this. I'm just gonna tell the major announcement to my story. It's late, so I'll queue this a few times.

Hello everyone! Taha here! You may know me for the Five Nights at Freddy's fanfic I wrote, titled "Welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza" on Fanfiction and ArchiveofOurOwn. It's been dormant for a few months now, mostly due to dwindling interest, but also because of some major life changes I've experienced. So right now, I got good news and bad news.

First off, the bad. I'm sad to say, but my story will be cancelled. I no longer enjoy how I've written it, and can't think how to continue. I hate to leave something incomplete like that, but I do think it's for the best. Which is where the good comes in.

The good news is, I am rebooting my fanfic! It'll still be about Foxy and Mike, but it'll have a greater focus on plot, more focus on Foxy's end and other characters will be enhanced. I'm not sure what I'll call it right now, but once I get permanent internet again and not just using my phone's 4G, I plan on writing the first chapter!

Hopefully it'll be lengthy still, but if not, I still have high hopes this will go better. I have some ideas floating around that I'll love to play with.

Until then guys! I hope you look forward to this reboot like I am! The story will be posted on my new tumblr account, Wisperic, when it's ready! I dunno if I'll make a new account or not for Fanfic and AO3, though I may see if I can just change my username instead.


	10. Revival!

Hello friends, Wisp here! Though quite a few probably still remember me as Taha, I'm officially known as Wisp now, since I've changed my usernames in most places I'm in. Today, I'm here with you for a new, major announcement.

This new announcement is that I will be continuing this Fanfiction after all! Turns out I'm quite stumped in how to reboot this, and I don't want to leave unfinished works on my profiles. And I don't want to delete this, so I've come to the decision that I'll be continuing this fanfiction!

However, there will be some changes. Before I write any new chapters, I will be editing the original chapters for more coherence and fixing of lore, since I first started this story back when only FNaF 1 was released. As such, some lore isn't quite right to the story. While it's true that, as a whole, this AU really isn't true to story, I do want my story to have grasps of the canon in it.

I will also be adding a bit of lore to the story as well, such as a reason why Mike doesn't just tell the situation outside of sheer curiosity. Cause let's face it, even if there was a hot robot trying to be your friend, and later boyfriend, the fact that they're daily trying to kill you is a bit reason enough to not just keep it bottled up. It'll have more instances of supernatural occurrences in it as a result; though honestly as a whole I planned it to be rather supernatural in nature anyway, just not as immediately noticeable as it will be now.

So this may mean sections may be completely rewritten, or new ones added, or old sections removed. It's really a toss of the hat from here. I'll be keeping track of each refurbishing I do on this chapter, and once I finish all of them and have the new chapter finished, the past two "chapters" of updates will be deleted. It may take a bit, as my interest is rather sporadic right now, but I hope to have this done before April or May, if not a bit sooner.

Well, in any case, I hope I haven't lost my flame of writing! And I hope you guys look forward to this refurbishing! I'll try my best not to do too majorly of any changes, but fact of the matter is a lot of stuff may not be up to par to my writing tastes now. It really all depends.

Glad to be back though!

**EDIT: First chapter has been rewritten and posted! 1/8 Completed**

**EDIT II: Second chapter up and running! 2/8 Completed**


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